Twisted Traditions
by Just Mina
Summary: He was the first Malfoy in Gryffindor. She was the first Weasley in Ravenclaw. He was the first Potter in Slytherin. Follow them, as together, they try to find themselves outside of their parents' shadows. As well as discovering the untold truth; uncovering a hidden war; and cleaning up a mess their parents left. Whether or not they succeed, let us find out.
1. Sorted

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone you recognise as canon.**

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><p>Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy watched his father, Draco Lucius Malfoy as he nodded curtly at a group of people. Scorpius had heard about them.<p>

Harry and Ginny Potter with Ron and Hermione Weasley.

He noticed Ron mutter something to Harry, then to a red-headed girl nearby. Hermione said something, half amused, yet Ron added something else to the girl.

He sighed. He knew it. It was as plain as day.

They were talking about _him_.

A Malfoy.

The prejudice was annoying.

He was nothing like his father, instead, he had his mother's personality. He asked, without turning to father, "They're talking about me, aren't they? The Potters and Weasleys?"

Draco perked up then sighed, "Sorry son, just don't let it get to you."

Scorpius nodded. It was a habit. He was forced to agree with everything his father said. Whether he was talking to him, or someone else.

Just then, a boy, a Potter, pushed Scorpius out of his way as he ran toward his family, "Out of the way!"

Draco growled at him. Scorpius asked, "Potter, I'm guessing?"

Draco nodded and led his son toward the Hogwarts Express. The last thing that Draco said to him was, "Good luck in Slytherin, son."

Scorpius sighed inwardly, but nodded at the same time. As he sat down, alone in an empty compartment, he growled.

He wanted to be normal. He hated what he'd grown up with, the prejudice from Draco( :his father), and Lucius( :his grandfather)'s actions, the warnings about the Potters and Weasleys, the pressure of being in Slytherin.

Most times, he wished it would all just go away.

A head poked through and Albus Potter asked, "Can I sit here?"

Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly, "Go ahead. It's your choice, not mine."

Albus, immensely relieved, sat down across Scorpius and sighed. He introduced, "I'm Albus Potter, call me Al."

Scorpius then realized that someone who wasn't a Malfoy, was talking to him, and replied, "Sorry — I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

Al nodded at him. James poked his head through, "Al, there you—" He noticed Scorpius, who in response, didn't sigh, he was raised to not be affected by the prejudice. James glared at him as he turned to his brother, "You shouldn't be with his kind Al. He—"

Neither Scorpius nor Albus knew where the latter's confidence came from as he replied, "So what? Is it a crime to sit in the same compartment as a Malfoy? Because if it is, then someone should've told me sooner!" James left silently.

Scorpius gazed at him and said, "Thanks."

Al replied, "You're welcome."

After a while, Al said, "It's annoying, isn't it?" He turned to him as he elaborated, "Everyone thinks I'm going to be just like my dad, in Gryffindor, a great Quidditch player, "do great things" — whatever that's supposed to mean; Mr Ollivander kept looking at me like I'd saved his life or something!"

Scorpius nodded and added, "People think you and your siblings are going to hate me."

Al nodded, "It's not true, James might hate you, but I don't …"

_Yet. _Scorpius added instinctively as Albus ended, "…and Lils isn't starting for another two years."

A thought came to Scorpius which he asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Albus shrugged, "I dunno. It's better than the silence."

* * *

><p>The girl who Ron was talking to, came and asked, "Hey Al, can I join you?"<p>

The boy nodded and scooted over so he was right across Scorpius. Rose sat down next to her cousin. She then took a deep breath, "I can't believe it. We're finally going to Hogwarts."

Albus nodded, "I know. Hu and Lils must be heartbroken."

She comforted, "They'll live. They've got each other."

Scorpius watched as they comforted each other from the pressure of Hogwarts. He was envious. They had each other, cousins, siblings, relatives. He stared out the window.

None of _his_ relatives were his age. He only had one cousin, a girl: Aquila Zabini.

But Aquila and her parents, Aunt Daphne and Uncle Blaise, had chosen to live abroad. Scorpius and Aquila only saw each other during family reunions, which were rare. He sighed inwardly.

* * *

><p>Rose, as she was called, got up, "You two better change into your robes. I'd say we're almost there."<p>

She then exited.

Just as they were finished, James came in, "Come on Al. The others're waiting."

Al turned to Scorpius and asked, "You want to come with?"

Scorpius shook his head, knowing that Al would be the only one that'd want him there. Al exited with his brother.

Scorpius walked out of the train and heard a voice yell, "Firs' years this way! Firs' years with me!" Scorpius followed the voice as did Al and Rose.

All the way to the castle, Scorpius was thinking about why Potter had been so nice to him. He hadn't done anything for him. He wasn't family. So, why? Why had he talked to him? Why had he offered him to join his group? Why had he defended him?

* * *

><p>Scorpius was not paying much (or any) attention to the first-years whom were all panicking about what they were supposed to do to get Sorted. Draco had already told Scorpius that you only had to try on a Hat. Although as they entered the Great Hall, Scorpius found that his father had forgotten to mention the crucial fact that the Sorting Hat <em>sang<em>.

Some of the other first-years looked terrified at the sight of the singing Hat. When it finished, the Hat bowed and everyone clapped. Then, Professor of Transfiguration and Deputy Headmistress Beatrix Vivier explained how the Sorting Ceremony worked. A few first-years looked relieved but others seemed a bit … disturbed … at the idea of trying on a singing Hat. Then, Professor Vivier held up the scroll of parchment and read aloud, "Angell, Priscilla!"

A dark haired girl swaggered over to the Sorting Hat — Rose was strongly reminded of some snobbish rich girl she had once read about — the Sorting Hat barely brushed her head before declaring —

"SLYTHERIN!"

Rose rolled her eyes. Priscilla Angell's confidence fade in the slightest as she cat-walked over to the Slytherin Table. She seemed to give off the impression that she had done this before.

Meanwhile, Albus caught sight of Lysander Scamander at the Slytherin Table. It may have been his imagination; but for a split second, Lysander looked a bit lonely, then reverted back to his impartial self.

"Awbrey, Marcus!"

The black haired boy seemed to be a professional at keeping his expression impartial as no-one felt he was nervous in the slightest. Scorpius believed this until Marcus Awbrey walked past him and Scorpius caught sight of his shaking hand. Calmly, but still shaking, the Sorting Hat covered his eyes and for a few moments, the Great Hall was enveloped in an expecting silence — that is, until —

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped as Marcus Awbrey smiled before joining them.

"Benlows, Calvin!" became the first Gryffindor. Albus watched as his cousins Victoire and Dominique; her best friend Ally Longbottom; his older brother James cheered, along with his best friends, Fred Weasley II and Lorcan Scamander. As Calvin seated himself onto the Gryffindor table, Al hoped James would cheer for him too.

"Beverly, Necia!" reminded Rose of Luna Scamander and this was more profound as she joined Ravenclaw alongside Marcus.

The list went on — "Blyton, Letitia!" groaned and muttered something on her trip to the Hat where she became the third Ravenclaw. However, "Burnell, Adrian!" became the first Hufflepuff.

"Burton, Marissa!" joined Calvin Benlows in Gryffindor, but "Camville, Ace!" was destined for Ravenclaw.

The "Castell, " twins both became eager Slytherins, causing Scorpius to feel a bit nervous. A few Sortings that went back and forth between Slytherin and Gryffindor and a few Hufflepuffs later, Professor Vivier reached —

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Ignoring all the whispers and mutterings of the Great Hall, Scorpius sat down and placed the hat atop his head.

The hat spoke, but it seemed only Scorpius could hear it, "Ah, I haven't had a challenge in ages."

_A challenge? I thought this was easy. I'm a Malfoy, don't I belong in Slytherin?_

"Is that why you want to be in Slytherin?"

_There's nothing about _want_. I _have_ to be in Slytherin. Dad was, Mum was, Aunt Daphne and Uncle Blaise were, Aqui might as well have been._

"So I see. You'd do well in Slytherin…"

_Phew!_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Whispers broke out into the hall. But the professor beside him didn't care, she lifted the hat and read out the next name as Scorpius made his way to the Gryffindor table. Albus noticed that neither James, nor Victoire, Fred or Lorcan cheered; although Dominique and Ally were only being polite. Despite this, Albus smiled at Scorpius and became so lost in thought about what'd happen if he wasn't put into Gryffindor that he'd zoned out of the Sortings, until some kid nudged him and Professor Vivier called —

"Potter, Albus!"

Al sat down and placed the Hat atop his head.

"Another Potter I see. You'd do well in Gryffindor, like your family…"

_I thought this was _my_ Sorting…_

"However, there is potential in you my boy — yes, I see — like in your Father, a thirst to prove yourself…"

_So? Are you going to put in Gryffindor or what? Just get it over and done with…_

"Your mind says Gryffindor but I can hear your subconscious screaming — if that's what you want — alright, then…"

Albus closed his eyes, shutting everyone away from the world.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Whispers broke out again. Rose gaped. James and the other relatives watched on speechless as Al made his way to the Slytherin table, solemn.

His worst fears had come true.

He had broken the tradition.

Sadly, he failed to notice the intrigued look in Priscilla's eyes. It took a while for everyone to recover as the Sortings continued, "Stewart, " … "Taverner, " … "Thomas, " and soon, there weren't many first-years left.

With every Sorting, Rose grew more and more nervous. She failed to keep track of what anyone was saying — the world seemed to blur — Rose couldn't make anything out, she felt terribly light-headed, until Professor Vivier snapped her back to reality.

"Weasley, Rose!"

Rose gulped inwardly but sat down as the Hat covered her eyes.

_Please put me in Gryffindor, please put me in Gryffindor, please put me in Gryffindor!_

"Oh, and why?"

_Because Dad said if I'm not in Gryffindor, he'll disinherit me!_

"Ah, young pressure. Well then, it's best to not disappoint your father, eh?"

_Phew!_

"RAVENCLAW!"

Rose sat down for a few moments, trying to collect her self before she made her way to the Ravenclaws.

Her worst fear was going to come true.

She would be disinherited.

Scorpius, Albus and Rose all sat at their respective Tables, all lost in thought of disappointing their parents; the rest of the Sorting Ceremony unimportant. However, Scorpius eventually snapped back to reality when the last kid to be Sorted, Gavin Wood, sat down across him at the Gryffindor Table.

Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and gave a speech, although what he said, Scorpius didn't know. He was still trying to let sink in the results of his Sorting.

He noticed that whilst Albus Potter tried to converse with some Slytherins; one a first-year girl (Hanwell, was it?) and the other a third year boy — like himself, Rose Weasley looked completely lost and alone, despite Estelle Taverner's attempts to cheer her up by making a monster out of the food.

None of the Gryffindors acknowledged Scorpius' existence as he quietly joined in the Feast.

* * *

><p>Later on, Scorpius was shocked to find himself in the <em>Gryffindor<em> Common Room, instead of Slytherin. He looked around, it must've been a dream, but it wasn't.

He was in Gryffindor, and that was that. Just like Al was in Slytherin and that girl in Ravenclaw.

What would his family think?

More importantly, what would his _father_ think?

Draco would be furious, maybe Scorpius would be disinherited.

Later that night, Scorpius could not sleep. He stared up at his four poster bed. From where the _red_, _scarlet_, curtains hung, instead of green, like they _should_'ve been. He sat up to see if anyone was awake. They weren't.

Slipping on his shoes, he set off to find Al, to figure out why he'd been so kind to him, and perhaps even, if he was lucky, why he was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.

* * *

><p>Scorpius thought and thought. But he could not find why Albus Potter had been so kind to him.<p>

Why he had been treated that way?

Wasn't he a Potter and Scorpius a Malfoy? Weren't Potters and Malfoys supposed to detest each other? Maybe Al didn't know that…

No, Potter knew it, his brother had proved that.

But then, _why_?

Why did he do it? Couldn't he just be normal and hate Scorpius? Like he was supposed to?

Just before he turned a corner, he heard voices, Rose was near-sobbing, "This is so unfair! I'm going to be disowned! I know it, I just know it!"

James' voice, jokingly added, "Of course you do, you're in Ravenclaw, aren't you?"

That set Rose off. She was sobbing quietly. Al whisper-yelled, "Will you two shush? We could be heard!"

Scorpius didn't say anything, in case he might set Rose off who had silenced for now.

He stood there silent and still, listening close. For what reason, Scorpius was not sure.

From behind him, Scorpius heard footsteps approaching. Not wanting to get caught, Scorpius hid behind the tapestry that hung on the wall opposite.

Just as Argus Filch stepped on the spot where Scorpius had previously stood, a crooked smile etched itself upon his face. Scorpius was miraculously silent but that was not what Filch had discovered.

"Ssh Rosie, don't listen to James!" Albus whisper-comforted.

Rose was still sobbing. James did not sound sorry at all, "Come on, it's this way."

Al, Rose and James turned the corner only to come face to face with their caretaker: Argus Filch.

Argus' creepy grin did not fade. He lowered to James' level, staring at him in the face, lantern still in one hand.

"Well, well, well, James Potter." He chuckled, "I'm going to enjoy this. Who's idea was it, eh? You Potter? Or your little brother?"

Maybe he wanted to get even with Al, or maybe it just his Gryffindor courage, but for some reason, Scorpius stepped out from behind the tapestry, "No! It's … it's my fault."

James' stare stiffened and Rose stared but Al smiled slightly. He ignored Rose's tears, "Another one, eh? And a Malfoy too! Come on then you lot. Arminger'll set you right."

He turned around, but just then, another adult approached, "Hey, what's going on here?"

James grinned, "Alright! We're saved!"

Professor Neville Longbottom approached the group, guided by wand-light. He smiled at Filch, glad that he had the authority to roam the corridors at night and not get caught, "Hello Filch. Beautiful night, no?"

Filch growled but Neville turned serious, "Well? Anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

The caretaker smiled, hoping the power of being a teacher would go to Neville's head and pointed at Scorpius, "This brat decided to call his friends out for a midnight stroll. I was about to take'em to Arminger."

Neville chuckled, "All these years and you haven't altered in the slightest Filch. But there's no need, I'll take care of them. You get some rest. Go on." Filch growled but obeyed.

Neville turned around to face the students. Scorpius looked at the children. James, Al and Rose all seemed to know him. How?

"Come on you four. Off to my office." He marched away, with the other four right behind him.

* * *

><p>Scorpius stood still and quiet, trying his best to fit in with the dark shadows of the night as he watched Professor Longbottom chat with the kids. The topic had gone from someone named "Frank" coming to Hogwarts to someone named "Ally" who apparently, was already at Hogwarts.<p>

Then — "So, was Filch telling the truth?"

Scorpius perked up. James turned sheepish, "It was my fault to be honest."

Neville folded his arms, "Why?"

Scorpius and Neville nearly jumped when Al and Rose started complaining about not being in Gryffindor. Neville calmed them down and then asked, "How come Filch said that it was him then?" He jerked his head towards Scorpius.

James' eyes seemed to harden.

"Because I told him so Professor." Scorpius stared at his feet.

"And where you telling the truth in doing so?"

"No Sir."

"Then why were _you_ out of bed at this time?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Any ideas why?"

"There's been a lot on my mind."

"Elaborations?"

"I wish not to Sir."

"Alright."

Scorpius sighed in relief and appreciation. Thank Merlin Professor Longbottom wasn't at all nosy.

Neville sighed, then said, "C'mere."

Scorpius looked up to see Neville gesturing towards him. He obeyed and stood near Al, but stayed a reasonable distance away.

Neville bent down to their level, "Look, the first year is always the hardest. But don't worry. Everything always works out in the end. I mean, look at me, I was _hopeless_ when I began but now I'm Head of Gryffindor _and_ Herbology Professor!"

Albus and Rose smiled slightly as Scorpius wondered what he meant by "_hopeless_". Neville carried on, "You've got each other, and James, Fred, Victoire, Dominique, Ally, Lorcan and Lysander."

Scorpius blinked at the many names that had just been listed. Who were they? Probably Weasleys.

Al recalled, "Oh, yea! Sander's in Slytherin too!"

Neville nodded, smiling. The young Potter cheered up immediately, "Thanks Neville!"

Scorpius' eyes widened.

Did Potter just call his Herbology Professor by his first name?

Scorpius looked over at Rose who looked down. He had a somewhat strange urge to comfort her. After all, he knew how lonely it must be for her.

The Herbology Professor hugged Rose, rubbing her back, "Ron and Hermione will be proud of you Rosie. You'll see."

He let go and she wiped her tears. Neville stood up straight, "Come on, off to bed you three. A big day tomorrow."

He then instructed James to take Scorpius with him up to Gryffindor Tower whilst Neville himself showed Rose and Al to their respective dorms.

As they parted ways, Scorpius felt it was best to keep his distance and not make any unnecessary noise. James seemed annoyed enough just being in his vicinity.

* * *

><p>When Scorpius finally remembered the tapestry that would lead them upstairs to the corridor where the Gryffindor common room was, James stopped and turned around; his expression dark.<p>

Scorpius should've taken a step back, but the stupid spirit of Godric Gryffindor inside him, just wouldn't give in. Scorpius took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was about to come.

James roughly grabbed the front of Scorpius' shirt and pushed him against the wall with all his might, "The Sorting Hat was obviously mistaken; scum like you should stay in Slytherin — but I warn you, if you come within ten feet of any of my family or friends — you'll be on your way to St. Mungo's faster than you can blink."

Scorpius, in immense pain, knew that James was not lying.

James then threw him onto the floor and added, "Another thing; if my brother approaches you, _ignore him_. He's an idiot — but go near him and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Scorpius gave a weak nod. James then headed upstairs. When Scorpius was sure that James was back in his dormitory, only then did Scorpius pull himself up and walked up the stairs; on the way shedding a tear but smiling and saying to himself, "It's going to be a long year…"

Scorpius wiped his eye and took a deep breath. He had promised himself that he would not let anyone get to him. Draco had enough troubles as it was; Scorpius would take some of the pain for his father. He would let the people at Hogwarts walk all over him if he had to just so that they could vent out their anger on the Malfoy name without further troubling his father. But Scorpius had also promised himself that he would not let his father find out about any tribulation that was to come — he would be fine.

Since, that was all that she had ever wanted from her grandson.


	2. Tea at Hagrids

**A/N: J.K Rowling owns anything and anyone you recognise as canon.**

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><p>On Friday, in Potions, the whole class turned around to find themselves staring at Scorpius Malfoy. <em>Again.<em>

The boys sniggered. Some girls giggled, others scrunched up their faces in disgust. Joyce Hanwell stared, gave a half-amused smile, shook her head half-exasperatedly and turned around to continue writing.

The Potions master, whom was still Horace E. F. Slughorn for some unknown, mysterious reason, stared at his no-longer missing student.

Snapping back to reality, he began, "Mr Malfoy why are you covered in—"

Scorpius explained, interrupting his Potions Professor, "—Jam doughnuts and chocolate éclairs. It's the Permanent Sticking Charm. Sir."

Most of the boys burst out laughing and a few girls giggled.

Scorpius however, still remained completely solemn about this whole ordeal. He took a deep breath. _Thank you Father, Grandfather. I now know what it is like to be pelted with jam doughnuts and chocolate éclairs._

Slughorn opened his mouth to say something but closed it and hesitated before saying, "Um, well then, you best go see Madam Pomfrey boy."

As he stumbled over his words, Slughorn dropped the phial from his hands. It fell down under his desk despite his clumsy attempts to catch it. As he bent down and looked around for it, Scorpius left and Albus stared at the door before asking, "Can I go with him Professor?"

Whilst getting up, Slughorn bumped his head on the edge of the desk, "What? Yes, yes, boy, go ahead." He stood up straight and checked his phial for any damamges as Albus practically ran out of the room.

Slughorn finally turned to the class and opened his mouth to announce something but then paused and asked, "…Where's Mr Potter?"

Half the class laughed at their teacher, and Joyce replied, "You gave him permission to accompany Malfoy to the Hospital Wing."

A look of realisation etched itself upon Slughorn's face whom nodded, "Ah yes, thank you…"

Joyce answered, "Hanwell, Sir."

"Ah, thank you Miss Hanwell. Now then…"

* * *

><p>Albus called to Scorpius as he tried to catch up, "Oy! Malfoy, wait up!"<p>

Although Scorpius didn't stop, Albus found it easy to catch up which was because of one clear reason. When he caught up, Albus pulled out his wand and performed the counter-curse to the Leg-Locker Curse.

Albus looked up and smiled at him but Scorpius stared expressionless and asked, "What do you want?"

Albus shrugged, "Nothing. Professor Slughorn said I could come with."

Scorpius replied, "I know the way."

Albus defended, "I— I only came to give you company."

Scorpius stepped forward with a clenched fist, "Not everyone wants your company Potter."

He then turned and carried on walking.

Albus stared after the blonde, "What did I do?"

Deciding he was not going to give up, Albus Potter continued on after Scorpius Malfoy.

Neither spoke the whole way.

* * *

><p>When they did find Madam Poppy Pomfrey, she was tending a blonde Ravenclaw whom looked to be in her third year.<p>

Poppy had her eye on the Ravenclaw but seemed to notice the boys, "I'll be with you in just a mo—" She glanced at the boys and then called, "Sylvia, you're needed."

Another lady, dressed in the same uniform, but much younger appeared and winced, "Oh, not again. What—"

Scorpius explained briefly, "Permanent Sticking Charm."

The Ravenclaw, whom had her wand in her hand, used it as a pencil and wrote out in the air, 'It was James wasn't it?'

The first year boys stared. But before they could reply, the witch wrote, 'I know it was James. I'm' She paused, trying to find the right word and continued 'familiar with his work.'

Albus asked, "Is your name by any chance Zoe Marler?"

The girl nodded and wrote, 'I can tell who you two are. You're both the clones of your fathers.'

The rest shrugged approvingly.

Scorpius asked, "Can't you talk?"

Zoe's expression became exasperated as she wrote two words: 'James' work.'

Albus apologized, "Sorry about him."

Zoe wrote, 'You don't need to apologize. This is normal for me.'

Poppy clapped her hands, "You can chat later. Right now, it's time to work."

Whilst Poppy left to retrieve something for Zoe, Sylvia advised Scorpius to change out of his robes. Albus once again offered to go with him.

Albus took Scorpius' silence as a yes.

* * *

><p>Albus had followed Scorpius into the Gryffindor Common Room and waited there.<p>

It came as a shock to Scorpius when he found Al still waiting there, "You're still here?"

Albus asked, "You didn't think I was going to leave, did you?"

Scorpius changed the subject, "We still have Potions?"

Albus nodded, "Another entire half hour."

The two headed for the dungeons in silence.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, the bell rang and the first-years gathered their possessions as Slughorn called over the noise, "Now don't forget to practice, I'll know if you haven't bothered. And uh, Mr Malfoy, if you stay behind please."<p>

Albus reluctantly headed outside the classroom and was rather shocked to find his cousin waiting for him. He asked, "What Rosie? And how the hell did you know I was here? And how did you get here so fast anyway?"

Rose Weasley replied, "Hagrid's called us for tea now, I did research and Madam Vivier let us go early to give us a head start on our homework."

Albus shoved his wand in his pocket, "Shouldn't you be doing your homework now?"

Rose held up a closed scroll, "Already done!"

Albus stared at the thickness of the scroll, wondering how much Rose had written in such little time, "Bloody hell Rosie! I know it's your first week, but calm down!"

Rose gave her cousin a look as she put away her scroll. She then asked, "So shall we?"

Scorpius then walked out and both cousins turned to him. He ignored them, but Albus called, "Hey…! Malfoy!"

The boy stopped turned around, and nodded curtly at the both of them like his father had done so last week, "Potter. _Weasley_."

Rose returned the stare with just as much contempt, "_Malfoy_."

Scorpius turned and continued walking.

Rose rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>As Albus and Rose made their way to Hagrid's hut, Albus asked, "Why do you hate him so much?"<p>

Rose turned to him, confused.

"Malfoy."

Rose turned her gaze forward, "It's not, _hate_, exactly, it's more, _contempt_, or, or, _strong dislik_e, if you will."

Albus reasoned, "Yea, but why? He's done nothing."

Rose explained, "It's the principle of the thing. You've just _got_ to hate him, y'know?"

Her cousin replied, "…No."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Of course you don't."

"Hey!"

Rose stopped, "Well, we're here."

Albus stepped forward and knocked on the door. Soon enough, it opened and Hagrid towered over both of them, "Who— What the—" Hagrid stared down at Albus, "_Harry_?"

Rose sniggered.

Albus sighed and corrected, "_No_ Hagrid, I'm his _son_, _Albus_! And _that_," he pointed at his giggling cousin, "is Rosie, _not_ Uncle Ron as a girl."

Rose's giggles ceased at Al's last statement.

Hagrid broke into a smile, "Ah, Al, Rosie, come on in ye two. Sometimes ye look so much like yer parents, it's hard ter tell who's 'oo."

The two kids entered the small, but homey hut as Hagrid closed the door behind them.

Rose and Albus sat down and waited patiently as Hagrid came as sat before them, "So, how's yer first week a' Hogwarts? Go on Al!"

Rose encouraged, "Yea Al, how's Slytherin?"

Albus started, "Hogwarts is… a lot bigger than I thought it'd be. Slytherin is… making me wonder if I do belong down there. You can't even _smile_ at the people down there! They want nothing to do with you! It's so boring down there! All everyone wants to do is 'finish this', 'finish that', and 'Do you know how long I've waited for this moment?', it's bloody annoying! The Common Room and dormitories, are dark and freezing! Why the hell would _anybody_ in their right mind have a common room and dormitories under a lake that's at least half a mile in diameter? You can't sleep at night because you can hear the water continuously lap against the windows!"

Hagrid tried a different approach, "Try an' give us somethin' _good_ about Slytherin."

Albus replied, "The people…? I mean sure one look at the Castells, or Angell or Parkinson make you want to run away, but there's also people like Sander and that Hanwell? Hanwell, yea, that's her name."

Hagrid asked, "Anythin' else?"

Albus paused, "I want to ask you something, but I can wait for Rosie."

The redhead smiled and started, "Three words. I. Love. Hogwarts."

Hagrid smiled, knowing where this was going.

"It's _everything_ I imagined it would be! And the library! Have you _seen_ the library, Hagrid? All those books, just _waiting_ to be read! And the Common Room! You don't need a _boring_,_ old password_Hagrid, you have to answer a _riddle_! How amazing is _that_! I know Dad said that he'd disinherit us if we're not in Gryffindor, but I don't care! Ravenclaw is _much_ better! And since Mum and Dad told me everything they know about Gryffindor, I'll have to learn about Ravenclaw all by my self! Of course, I can just ask Luna, but that wouldn't be as much fun, now would it?"

Hagrid and Albus shook their heads, knowing to agree, "No, it wouldn't be."

Rose continued, "And the classes! _Everything_ from Defence Against the Dark Arts to Potions to History of Magic is amazing! I know it's already been one week but I've already learned _so_ much! And that's saying a lot since I'd already learned _all_ our set books by heart! Of course, today we got our very first Transfiguration essay homework and guess what! I've already finished mine!"

Hagrid intervened, "'S great ter hear that yer having such a fine time a' Hogwarts."

Rose beamed but Albus sat there with his chin in his hand, leaning on his thigh and rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

Hagrid reached out and ruffled Albus' hair, "Cheer up Al, it'll get better, it always does."

Albus gave a half-hearted smile.

Hagrid turned to Rose, "An' ye, Rosie, with brains like yers, soon enough yeh'll be the smar'es' witch of yer age, just like yer dear old mum!"

Rose smiled, "Yea, I don't know what Mum'll think of me being in Ravenclaw, I mean I know that she doesn't expect to be _100_% Gryffindor, but I think she's hoping."

Hagrid comforted, "Trus' me Rosie, if I know Hermione, she'll be proud o' ye."

Albus finally asked, "You still haven't told me Rosie, what made you change? Last week, you were sprouting waterfalls over being in Ravenclaw and now, you practically don't care."

Rose replied, "Well I am still worried, but someone told me it'll be fine just as long as I look on the bright side of this."

Albus, knowing full well that his cousin was yet again bending the truth, guessed, "'Enjoy it while you can'?"

Rose nodded, "Yea."

"Thought so."

Hagrid asked, "Who was it?"

Albus asked, "It wasn't Hagrid?"

Rose shook her head, "Well it's like you have Sander, he's in Slytherin too, and he's older so if you have any problem, you can just ask him, right?"

Albus nodded.

Rose asked, "D'you remember Zoe Marler? That Ravenclaw in James and Fred's year?"

Albus recalled, "Oh yea, I met her today, at the Hospital Wing."

Rose and Hagrid stared at Albus confusedly but the boy promised to tell them later.

Rose explained, "I know James' is always complaining about her, but she's actually really nice."

Her cousin nodded in agreement.

Hagrid recalled, "Ah Zoe, I remember her. And yer right Rosie, she is nice. 'S a shame tha' James has te go around pickin' on her."

There was a knock on the door causing all three heads to turn to it.

The door opened and a wizard, quite old in fact, with a long, stringy, wiry beard and grey hair. Behind the dirty lenses of his spectacles, his eyes were a piercing blue colour.

Hagrid stood up, recognising the man, "Yes Sir?"

The man grunted, "Hagrid, my office, ten minutes. Our _guest_ has arrived." He then left.

Hagrid then shuffled around, straightening himself out as he advised, "I'm sorry, Rosie, Al, but I've got to get up there. 'S important."

Rose stood up, "Sure Hagrid, and thanks." Hagrid smiled and Rose turned to her cousin, "Come on Al."

The three exited. Hagrid went up ahead, trying to keep up with the man that had reminded Albus of someone.

Al and Rose hadn't walked for that long when Al placed a hand on Rose's mouth to silence her and dragged her back to Hagrid's garden.

When he was sure they were out of sight, Al let go. Rose, knowing that her cousin would only do this if extremely necessary, demanded quietly, "Al, what was that for?"

Her cousin looked around the corner of Hagrid's hut and Rose did too. Albus pointed at one of the Slytherin girls looking around for something.

Albus explained, "D'you see that girl? The one with brown hair?"

Rose tilted her head slightly, "If it's the one with the Slytherin uniform, yea."

Albus explained, "I think she's stalking me. She follows me everywhere, it's scary!"

Rose gave her cousin a look.

Albus turned to face the garden and raised an eyebrow. Rose turned around and gasped.

Albus stepped forward first, "Is that an_ owl_?"

Rose leaned closer as well, "I think it is."

She then asked, "Is it — dead?"

Albus said, "I hope not." Then stepped forward to poke the animal with his wand.

Rose warned, "Don't!"

But after a few seconds, the owl fluttered it's wings.

Rose noted, "It's trapped in a patch of… Venomous Tentacula, I think."

Albus stepped closer, "Come on."

Rose obeyed, "Careful."

Since both had a pet owl of their own, together, they were able to help the tawny owl out of the patch and onto plain grass.

The Venomous Tentacula however, was not happy, as it prepared to shoot venom at Albus, a familiar voice cried, "_Diffindo_!"

The plant was unconscious, for now. Albus turned to Rose, wand in hand and a few strands of her flaming red hair hanging over her eye.

Rose straightened and tucked the strand of hair behind her ear whilst she said, "Sorry."

Albus asked, "Where did—"

Rose answered, "'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1' by Miranda Goshawk. One of our assigned textbooks."

Albus nodded and turned to the owl, whom was very much alive and still had a piece of parchment tied to its leg. Albus held out his arm and the owl rested rested itself upon it.

The boy noted, "He looks fine."

Rose untied the letter from the owl's leg.

As a reply, the owl flew off towards the castle.

Albus then asked, "Aren't you going to open it?"

Rose stared at the parchment, "…No."

She then pocketed it.

Albus rolled his eyes, "Teacher's pet."

Rose countered, "Nosy git."

Albus stuck his tongue out at her.

She gave him a look, "Real mature."

* * *

><p>Albus entered the Slytherin Dungeon regretfully and a bit tired.<p>

As he slumped down on one of the cold, dark, green leather sofa, his thoughts turned to his Sorting. Slytherins were supposed to be ambitious. But right now, his only ambition was to get this year over with.

His only friend was Lysander Scamander, whom also preferred to be alone. Lysander never said anything, but Albus could tell from his eyes he preferred seclusion, what with having a partly famous Mum and a twin brother in Gryffindor. Albus didn't mind, he knew everyone needed alone time now and then, but it seemed to him that Slytherins remained alone a bit too much.

Not that Albus didn't belong in Slytherin, he too had goals in life. Current ones included finding the Sorting Hat again, to question it on its decision, break through to some Slytherins, even if just one, befriend, or at least, acquaint himself with the loner Scorpius Malfoy and find out what was written on that piece of bloody parchment Rose claimed.

…and he was getting nowhere.

With any of his goals.

"Tough week?"

Albus turned around to find Joyce Hanwell leaning against the frame of the door that led to the Slytherin girls' dormitories.

He turned back around, "You could call it that."

Joyce went over and sat next to Albus, "Or…?"

Albus gave a half-hearted grin, "…or you could call it 'the worst five days of my entire life'."

Joyce chuckled.

They sat in silence for a while.

Joyce then said, "Must be hard for you."

Albus didn't reply.

She continued, "Being in Slytherin when the entire world expected you to go into Gryffindor."

Still nothing.

She leaned forward, "Hey, you listening?"

Albus stood up, "Look, I just want to be left alone, alright? There's no need to remind me that I've disappointed the world, disgraced my family, and my namesakes! Coming down here alone everyday is punishment enough."

After a while, Joyce stated, "We've a Potions test due Monday."

Albus stared at her, "No we don't."

Joyce stood up, "Yes, we do. But you wouldn't know that, because you're too busy chasing after Malfoy, who clearly wants nothing to do with you and sulking like the pathetic loser you'll turn out to be if you carry on. Like it or not, you're a Slytherin, and the only reason that you have the right to wear that green tie is because you need to prove yourself you lazy, selfish git. So quit sulking and _do_ something."

Albus Potter stared.

Shoving some folded parchment into him, Joyce walked back to the girls' dormitories, nearly knocking Albus out of the way with her shoulder.

Stunned by her ferocity, Albus sat back down slowly and unfolded the parchment. It turned out to be numerous parts of parchment, and they all were Potions notes. Albus held up the one that said 'Pg1' on it and read out the underlined titled, 'Potions Test - Monday - Notes of J. Hanwell'

And so, instead of sleeping that night, Albus S. Potter spent his first Friday night at Hogwarts, studying for a Potions test.


	3. The Deed of James Potter

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Albus had felt guilty learning that he had passed and Joyce had failed the Potions test but hadn't said anything.<p>

He had gone over two weeks not speaking to Joyce Hanwell. And she had done the same. Albus didn't know he could go so long without talking to anyone. Although he had just noted this, Albus had not spoken, or seen his older brother since the Sorting Ceremony. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Fred either, or Lorcan, or even Lysander.

He must've been confused from the letter.

After Joyce had lectured him and left him with her Potions notes, he had attempted to reach one of his goals.

So one night, he had snuck out to Gryffindor Tower, stolen the Invisibility Cloak from his brother's trunk and headed for the Ravenclaws Tower. Knowing he could not have entered the girls' dormitory, Albus had to very carefully steal James' broom as well, fly to Ravenclaw tower, find Rose and then search for the mysterious piece of parchment. Which he had thankfully found. Without waking anyone up. And successfully returned both the broom and the cloak.

The parchment turned out to be a letter addressed to Hagrid, and was written by Albus' Uncle Charlie Weasley.

It was very short, but very confusing all the same.

_Dear Hagrid,_

_I hope you're well. Just thought I'd let you know, three of our Peruvian Vipertooth and two of our Hebridean Blacks have disappeared here in Romania, there's no trace of anything._

_I'll send a more detailed report by Sambra Oilor._

_Oh and Norberta's doing just fine Hagrid._

_Charlie_

Rose snapped him out of his thoughts, "Al? Did you hear?"

Albus shook his head.

Rose groaned exasperatedly, "James is suspended!"

This caught Albus' attention, "James, suspended? When, where, _how_?"

Rose explained, "They haven't said how long he'll be gone, but it was a few days ago, James snuck into the Headmaster's office and d'you know what he tried to do?"

Albus asked, "What? What'd he do?"

"He tried to destroy the Sorting Hat!"

Albus stared, "But — can he even do that?"

Rose emphasized, "It gets worse."

Albus watched on expectedly as Rose continued, "Headmaster Dumbledore found him and wanted to duel James! Duel! A student!"

Albus asked, "Did they?"

Rose stared at her cousin, then explained, "_No_! Because Professor Dumbledore isn't _allowed_ to do so! He could've expelled James but no-one knows why he suspended him instead! Aunt Ginny already sent James a Howler! He's in so much trouble!"

Albus noted, "I never thought James would go that far."

Rose added, "Fred and Lorc were protesting, but I think Professor Dumbledore silenced them."

Albus then realised, "If James is home, you don't think he told Mum and Dad that we're not in Gryffindor?"

Rose stared at Albus in disbelief, "He wouldn't. Dad would— _will_ explode."

Albus refrained from stating that he was in bloody _Slytherin_. And he didn't need to, for Rose carried on, "If James _does_ say so, I feel so sorry for you."

They both stayed in silence for a while, then Albus spoke up, "I'll ask Lils."

Rose tilted her head, "I don't think you need to."

Just as Albus turned around, a very familiar Barn Owl flew into Albus knocking him down.

Rose retrieved the owl off of her cousin whom slowly stood up.

Albus then retrieved the piece of paper off the owl's leg whom then proceeded to rest on Albus' shoulder.

Rose noted, "I think Arcus missed you."

Albus gave his cousin a look before unfolding the piece of paper.

Rose asked, "Who's it from?"

Her answer came almost immediately, "Lily."

Rose leaned over the other side of Albus to read the letter.

_AL!_ (It said in a very untidy and rushed pink scribble)

_What the bloody hell happened at Hogwarts? I've never seen Mum so angry!_

_Is it true? Is it true? Is it true? Did James really try to destroy the Sorting Hat?_

_Mum's yelling **so** loud, I don't think she'll ever yell again! (Even Dad is scared! And you know Dad's not scared of **anything**!)_

_And why did James try to destroy the Hat? Does he not want me to go to Hogwarts?_

_James isn't saying anything! He's locked himself in his room, and I think he's going to jump out his window and run away from home!_

_What's happening Al!_

**_TELL ME!_**

_And say hi to Rosie for me._

_Love, Lily L :P_

Rose chuckled at her cousin's antics.

She then asked, "You going to write back?"

Arcus, the owl, knowing Albus, left to rest itself on Rose's shoulder instead.

Albus shoved the letter into Rose's hands, "No. You tell her."

Rose and Arcus stared at each other confused as Albus walked silently back to the castle.

* * *

><p>Albus walked in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, praying for help.<p>

Luckily, he ran into the very person he was looking for.

"Lorc!"

Lorcan Scamander smiled down at Albus, "Al, just the person I was looking for. You okay?"

Albus replied, "I think. I actually wanted to ask you—"

Lorcan guessed, "— About James?"

Albus nodded, "How'd—"

Lorcan once again interrupted, "I was almost in Ravenclaw, anyway that's not the point. Let's take a walk."

Albus didn't question the older wizard.

* * *

><p>Rose finally reached the Owlery, "Ready Arcus?"<p>

The owl didn't reply.

Rose rolled her eyes, and read her letter over one more time.

_Dear Lily,_

_I'm sorry that Al can't reply but he's gone off._

_According to Lorc and Fred, yes, James did try to destroy the Sorting Hat._

_I don't know the details, you'll have to get them from Lorcan or Fred when they come to the Burrow this Christmas._

_I'll try to find out why James did what he did, but I don't think it's because he doesn't want you at Hogwarts._

_I've got much more to do and Arcus is getting impatient._

_Wish Mum a happy birthday from me!_

_Love, Rosie_

Rose folded up the parchment and tied it to the Potter family owl.

Rose waved goodbye as Arcus immediately took flight.

She then turned around to leave the Owlery when Joyce Hanwell practically ran inside to greet one of the other tawny owls.

Rose watched on as Joyce unfolded the parchment quicker than Pigwidgeon could travel. She quickly scanned through the letter, took a few deep breaths, discarded the letter and then trudged away gloomily.

* * *

><p>Lorcan asked, "D'you get it?"<p>

Albus nodded, "Yea, I get a lot now."

Lorcan stopped and turned to Albus, "Give James time. He'll come around."

Albus said, "I will. Thanks Lorc."

Lorcan smiled, "Good. Well, I've to go help Fred with his History of Magic homework before Herbology starts."

Albus nodded and Lorcan headed inside.

Albus continued walking. Lorcan had explained James' intentions but he had also implied something else. Now thanks to Lorcan, Albus also felt that the Sorting Hat shouldn't exist, but for a completely different reason than his brother.

Lorcan had said that James had attempted to destroy the Hat because he didn't believe Albus belonged in Slytherin.

Did that mean that James wouldn't accept Albus as family if he wasn't in Gryffindor?

Just because Albus was in Slytherin didn't mean that he was any different from the boy whom had grown up beside his brother James and his sister Lily.

Of course, now that he was in Slytherin, Albus didn't care about any of the stories James, Uncle Ron and Uncle George had told him to steer him away from wanting Slytherin over Gryffindor.

He remembered his conversation with the Sorting Hat. And although he had not said directly it to the Sorting Hat, Albus now knew that deep down he was screaming 'Slytherin' over Gryffindor.

He wanted to prove to the world that he could be both, a Slytherin, and the Albus Potter they had all grown to know.

Sure Gryffindor meant that you were brave and awesome and everything, but Slytherin was just as cool.

How did being in Gryffindor automatically make you a good guy? And being in Slytherin automatically meant you were evil?

Albus wondered what Lysander's first years at Hogwarts were like, to be separated from his twin for seven years because of just one word.

Why do they even divide up the school into four qualities and have a House Cup Competition every year?

Wanting to take his mind off such negative thoughts, Albus took out of his pocket his uncle Charlie's letter to Hagrid and stared at it.

First of all, who was Norberta? Was it a person, or a dragon?

Sambra Oilor, was that some kind of Romanian holiday? He'd have to ask Rose.

And what happened to the dragons? Were they stolen? Did they escape?

_there's no trace of anything._

They couldn't have escaped; someone would have noticed five dragons fly off.

So if they were stolen, who was the thief?

Or rather, who were the thieves?

No one person could steal five dragons on his own without any trace.

And where were the dragons at this time?

Were they alright? And why were they stolen?

Was it just for fun, or was it something else?

And if it was something else, what was the something else?

Had the dragons already served their purpose?

Or was the thief waiting?

"Al!"

Albus looked up to see Rose, clearly angry. She snatched the parchment from his hand, "Where did you get this?"

Albus said, "Well, it wasn't easy."

Rose glared at him, "Didn't I say that none of us were to open this?"

Albus countered, "Technically, you said that you weren't going to open it. I said nothing. And anyway, you're a Ravenclaw, don't you want to know what it is?"

Rose folded it up, "Of course I do, but I also know what I should know and what I shouldn't know. You can't just go around reading other people's letters, it's invading their privacy!"

Albus defended, "He didn't even know it was there!"

"Still!"

Albus continued, "There's no point in taking it from me now, I've already read it."

Rose stared appalled, "Al! You can't do that! It's rude!"

Albus cried, "It's curiosity!"

Rose quoted, "'Curiosity killed the cat' Al! And if this happens again, curiosity will kill the black-haired green-eyed Potter cat! I'll make sure it does!"

Both glared at each other with equal ferocity.

Rose threw back her bushy hair, "I'm going to hand this in, either you can come and redeem yourself or stay here and turn out like James!"

She then walked off towards Hagrid's hut.

* * *

><p>The door opened and Hagrid towered over Rose Weasley with a forced smile, "'Lo Rosie, Al. D'you need anything?"<p>

Rose turned around to find that her cousin had been following her. She smiled smug and held out the folded letter to Hagrid, "Al and me found this yesterday. Uncle Charlie's owl was stuck in your patch of Venomous Tentacula."

Hagrid accepted the letter, "Oh, thanks Rosie! I' bin lookin' fer tha'!"

Albus contributed, "Uncle Charlie's owl headed to the castle when we set it free."

Hagrid's forced smile was replaced with a real one, "Thanks ye two! Ye lot jus' made my day! Wan'a rock cake?"

Albus whispered to Rose, "Don't Rosie, Minie, Vic, Fred, Lorc, Sander and Teddy warned us, just say _no_."

Despite this, Rose elbowed Albus to silence him and politely said, "Thank you Hagrid, that would be very kind of you."

As Hagrid left inside to fetch the rock cakes, Albus stared at Rose in disbelief.

She returned with her own look that read 'Be quiet!'

Hagrid returned with three rock cakes each for both of them.

Rose accepted hers first. "Thanks Hagrid."

She nudged Albus who then (reluctantly) accepted his, "Yea, thanks Hagrid."

Hagrid smiled but didn't close the door.

He explained, "Go on try 'em. I didn' get ye any las' time, so go on. Try 'em. I wan'a see yer faces when ye tas'e 'em."

Rose managed to get a very small bite off hers, "Mmm, these are great, Hagrid."

Albus managed to rip off a bigger bite than Rose, "They're so good. I've never tried anything so tasteful in my life."

Hagrid smiled, "Glad ye like 'em. Anyway, you lot better get up te the castle. 'Spect yer next lesson star's soon."

Hagrid closed the door and Rose looked as though she had just realised something and turned to Albus, "Come on, we'll be late for Charms!"

Shoving the rock cakes in their pockets, the two ran for the castle, and made it just in time.

* * *

><p>Charms was fun as always. But there was something different about Professor Doceti today. She seemed more angry than usual, if only a bit.<p>

Since they had first entered her classroom on Tuesday morning, she had greeted them cheerfully. Professor S. Doceti was known around the school for being the kindest, so it came as a surprise to the first-years when they learned that she had been Sorted into Ravenclaw instead of the cheery, fair and loyal Hufflepuff.

Today they were learning the Wand-Lighting Charm.

Rose had already mastered the spell, no surprise there. Albus took a bit longer but got there in the end.

Halfway through the lesson, when it had seemed that Professor Doceti was back to her cheery self again, Adora Castell, raised her hand and asked unwisely, "Professor, is it true that James Potter tried to destroy the Sorting Hat?"

And within seconds, everyone except Rose, Albus and Doceti were animatedly chatting about the rumour.

Albus sunk lower into his seat, wishing he hadn't returned the Invisibility Cloak.

Everyone was talking of James' deed.

"I hear he's suspended!" cried Amity Castell.

"Suspended? I think he should be expelled!" voiced Priscilla Angell.

"I heard he was going to be expelled!" added Austin Venesse.

"I heard he had to duel the Headmaster!" cried Aleron Crewe as if nothing would excite him more.

With every passing statement, Albus sunk a bit more into his seat until Ace Camville turned to Albus, "Hey, Potter, you're his brother, go on, tell us what _really_ happened!"

Soon enough everyone was silently watching Albus, waiting for an answer.

Thankfully, Rose came to his rescue, "_Enough_! Does this really matter? We're in Charms, and how many of you can light your wand already?"

The students looked ashamed and suddenly shy.

Professor Doceti smiled, "Thank you Miss Weasley."

She then turned to the class, "And you all, Miss Weasley is absolutely correct, you are supposed to be practising lighting your wand, _not_ discussing James Potter!"

Albus didn't know if she was joking, or if she was being serious when Estelle Traverner added, "Oh but Professor, who _wouldn't_ want to discuss James Potter?"

Rose stared in disbelief at Estelle Traverner.

Adora Castell cried out, "Forget discussing, I want to _marry_ him!"

Ace Camville stood on his seat, one foot resting on the table as he spoke out, "_No_! You will not marry James Potter! He shall always remain a Marauder to us!"

The other boys cheered Ace on.

Austin Venesse added, "No foolish little girl is going to get in the way of James Potter's work!"

The boys cheered again.

On the other side of the classroom, Letitia Blyton, the one who only answered to the name 'Rae', stood up as well, "Who said I was going to get in the way! I just want to marry him! Then he can go off and do all his Marauder stuff."

Estelle Traverner countered, "Oh please! If I married James, I'd spend as much time as I could with him! I mean, what girl doesn't want _that_?"

Albus heard Rose mutter, "I can name a few."

No one noticed Professor Doceti leave.

Albus and Rose turned to each other helplessly. By the time Professor Doceti returned, Albus and Rose were watching with bored expressions as the girls fought over who would marry James and the boys yell at the girls that they couldn't marry James Potter.

When she realised whom was with Professor Doceti, Rose sat up immediately and straightened her uniform, urging Albus to do the same. He obeyed.

With her, Professor Doceti had brought the very same man who had called Hagrid to his office that Friday. Albus stared at his hard expression, his eyes still the brilliant blue they were.

Rose whispered, "That's the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore opened his mouth and yelled out in a deafening voice, "_ENOUGH_!"

The class silenced and everyone rushed back into their seats, doing their uniform, and in the girls' cases, their hair.

Professor Dumbledore walked from the door frame to the teacher's desk, glaring at every student, even Rose and Albus.

"Now I have been called from my office, by your Charms Professor, because none of you are working. What am I, running a circus here? You," he pointed at Rose, "what are you learning today?"

Rose replied, "The Wand-Lighting Charm, Sir."

Professor Dumbledore turned to the class, "Right then, show me what you can do."

The entire class cried "_Lumos_!" but only a couple of the Ravenclaws' and a few Slytherins' wands lit up weakly. Rose's was the brightest whilst Albus was sure his was going to go out any moment. It didn't.

Professor Dumbledore looked around and began, "Awbrey, Hanwell, Beverly, Weasley, Potter, Venesse, you're all dismissed."

Mark Awbrey, Joyce Hanwell, Necia Beverly, Rose, Albus and Austin Venesse immediately left the room where Professor Dumbledore could be heard yelling at the students.

* * *

><p>That night, instead of going to the cold Common Room like usual, Albus Potter headed for the Forbidden Forest, albeit away from Hagrid's hut; he didn't want trouble right now.<p>

He sat down against one of the trees, not far from the castle, it was still in view. It was Albus sat down that he realised the rock cakes were still in his pockets.

He took them out and set them down, careful not to dirty them.

"What _are_ you doing?"

Albus immediately looked up to find Scorpius Malfoy, sat leaning against another tree facing Albus.

He asked, "_Well_?"

Albus snapped back to his senses. He shrugged, "Nothin', just thought I'd come down here for a while before I've to go down to the dungeons for the night. You?"

Scorpius replied, "Some students still want revenge on Malfoy. So they stay late at night, waiting to catch me before I head to sleep. Others get up early in the morning and catch me before breakfast."

Albus then realised how hard it must be for Scorpius, alone, in Gryffindor—

Albus muttered, "…when the whole world expected you to be in Slytherin."

Scorpius stared at the boy in confusion, "Pardon?"

Albus shrugged again and relaxed. As they both sat in silence, Albus stared at the rock cake in his hand, debating whether to try and break his teeth again or not.

Scorpius asked, "What are _those_?"

Albus looked at Scorpius, then the rock cake, back at Scorpius and grinned what at home was called 'Marauder grin', "Rock cake. Want one?"

Scorpius stared.

Albus warned, "Catch." He threw the rock cake at Scorpius whom caught it easily.

Albus picked up his own and encouraged Scorpius, "Go on, it's good."

Scorpius made an attempt to bite it and then glared at Albus, "You did this on purpose."

Albus reasoned, "It's called a joke Malfoy. Go on, it just takes practise."

And so the two boys sat and very slowly progressed through Rubeus Hagrid's infamous rock cakes.


	4. Home Confining Home

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Back at Potter Manor, things were a whole lot different.<p>

True to Lily's letter, James had locked himself in his room and not spoken to anyone since he was sent home.

Ginny had exploded, learning of James' actions, that Harry was reminded of his second year when Ron received the Howler from Molly.

Lily, had known to remain silent and was in her room, scared of her mother's ferocity, despite the fact that Harry told her that it would be alright. Apparently, James had had a habit of doing things that made his mother explode.

But what confused Harry most of all, was that James took every bit of Ginny's yelling, not talking back, not rebelling, nothing. That was nothing like James.

So, one evening, before dinner, when the house was quiet, Harry sat down on the sofa, next to Ginny, whom had her head in her hands.

"Ginny?"

Ginny looked up at him, "Just find out why."

Harry patted her shoulder, "I'll try my best."

He heard her mutter, "Good luck, you'll need it."

Upstairs, outside James room, everything was the same. The light inside was on, meaning James was awake.

Harry knocked on the door, "James?"

No reply.

Another knock, "James, I'm not here to yell at you. Or tell you off."

The door opened slowly. It was unusual to find James' room clean for once. Had the kid really been that much bored?

"Thank you."

Harry closed the door behind him and turned to James, who was lazily lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Harry sat down on the edge of the bed, facing James.

James didn't move his gaze, but asked, "If you're not here to yell at me, or tell me off, what is it?"

Harry said, "I just wanted to ask you why you tried to destroy the Hat."

James rolled over on his side and faced the wall, "Because it deserved it."

Harry asked, "But _what_ did it do to earn such a high level of punishment?"

James didn't move, "I can't tell you that."

Harry asked, "Why not?"

James replied, "That's Al's job."

Now Harry was confused, "What does Al have to do with this?"

James muttered something inaudible.

Harry leaned closer, hoping to catch whatever his son was saying, "Pardon?"

"Al's in Slytherin."

Harry did a double-take.

James repeated, sitting up, "Al's in Slytherin Dad."

Harry regained control, "Even if he is, that is still no reason to—"

Looking into his son's eyes, Harry realised the real reason as to why James had taken his anger out on the Sorting Hat.

Harry was now speechless, "James…"

He covered James' hand with his own, "Listen, Al will be fine."

James burst out, "What about me then?"

Harry pulled his ever reluctant son into a hug, "It'll be fine. Everything'll be fine."

James asked, breaking the hug, "How would you know?"

Harry was unsure how to word this story, "Because when I was at Hogwarts, there was a kid, he was in Slytherin and um, he managed to find me at least once everyday."

Harry then shifted so he could fully face James, "Look, just because Al's in Slytherin, it's not going to change anything. You'll still pick on him, he'll still complain, and Lily'll still call you both idiots."

The two laughed. For a few minutes, there was a comfortable silence between them which Harry broke, "Right then, glad we have that cleared up. Now then, you'll be coming to dinner, won't you?"

James looked unsure.

Harry offered, "I'll try to get your Mum to not yell at you."

James smiled, "I'm there."

Harry smiled and got up to leave, but before he reached the door, he turned around and asked, "Why all this drama for just a simple reason?"

James replied, "Everyone knows what the authorities are like. Once they start yelling, they don't shut up to listen."

* * *

><p>All through dinner, no-one had said a word.<p>

Harry had not told Ginny or Lily that Albus was put into Slytherin.

Anyone could tell that Lily was trying to be as quiet as possible.

Finally, Ginny began, "Look James,"

Everyone looked up.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, I should've listened."

James took a sip of water, "I deserved it."

Ginny shook her head, "No it's my fault, I just y'know, need a break from work."

Harry offered, "Well why don't we all go out tomorrow? On a family outing?"

Lily asked, "What about Al?"

To their surprise, James replied, "This is our way of punishing Al for having fun at Hogwarts without us."

Soon enough Lily was chanting for the outing.

Ginny smiled, "Why not?"

James added, "You're not going anywhere without me."

Harry replied, "Of course, why leave the King behind?"

Lily asked, "King of what?"

Harry thought and replied, "The King of Trouble."

James grinned, "Thanks Dad!"

Everyone laughed.

After a while, Lily turned to her brother, "When will you go back to Hogwarts?"

James turned to his parents, since he hadn't been told.

Ginny turned to Harry who replied, "Well, your Headmaster wanted to expel you and ban you and your children, and your grandchildren, and your grandchildren's grandchildren for life, but I tried to make him see reason so now you'll be going back to Hogwarts when it re-opens after the Christmas holidays."

Lily squealed with joy. Ginny groaned exasperatedly. James just stared at his father, "You're _kidding_, right?"

Harry shook his head.

James complained, "What? _Why_?"

Harry and Ginny gave him a look.

James said, "Okay, I get why, but _seriously_? I already had to sit through _Aunt_ _Hermione_'s birthday, now you want me to sit through till _Christmas_? I'll miss _Hallowe'en_! Me and Fred had his whole—"

James silenced.

Ginny became stern, "You and Fred had _what_?"

James became unusually quiet, "Nothing."

Harry continued, "Also, you can't contact anyone at Hogwarts during your suspension."

James stood up, "_What_?"

Harry held up his hands in defence, "You've got a problem, take it to the Headmaster."

Ginny added, "Remember, this is a _punishment_ James. You're not here on holiday."

James sat back down and asked, "Can I at least send Hagrid a birthday card?"

Harry shook his head, "Sorry."

James groaned.

Lily gasped, realising something.

James and his parents turned to her.

Lily squealed out, "We can play dress up!"

Ginny sniggered. Harry grinned. James paled.

He cried out, "_No_!"

Ginny's sniggers turned into laughs.

Harry was still grinning, "Go on James, spend some quality time with your sister."

James stood up and kept his chair in front of him as a method of defence, "No, absolutely _not_. Why can't you play with Hugo anyway?"

Ginny got up to clear the table, "She can't play with Hugo. He's busy with piano lessons."

James turned to Lily, "Play with Dad."

Harry said, "_I_'m not suspended from work James. I still have to go."

James tried weakly, "Mum?"

Ginny replied, "I don't think so."

James groaned. He was doomed.

Lily squealed. She dragged her brother upstairs and to her room.

Harry got up from his seat when a Ministry owl flew in and onto Harry's shoulder.

Harry retrieved the letter from his leg.

Ginny guessed from the kitchen, "For you?"

Harry opened up the letter, "From Kingsley."

Ginny asked, "What about?"

Harry read it over, "Work."

Ginny sadly asked, "You still coming tomorrow?"

Harry tossed the letter on the table, "Of course I am."

He then fetched a pen from his pocket, scribbled down a reply on the back, and tied it to the owl which flew back out the window.

Ginny asked, "Anything big?"

"Not really."

From upstairs, James yelled, "_No_ Lily! That's going _too_ far!"

Harry grinned, "Sounds like James is having fun."

Ginny laughed.

* * *

><p>The next morning was quite cold, but not enough to keep the Potter family inside.<p>

Lily was the first to run outside excitedly, squealing with joy.

Shivering, Lily ran back inside where her mother was waiting, Lily's coat in hand, "I warned you."

Lily didn't say anything, but when her mother had secured her under the safety of the coat, Lily ran back outside excitedly, screaming with joy again.

Harry laughed at the antics of his daughter. James kept his gaze away from his sister, "Let's just get this over with."

Ginny and Harry shared a knowing grin before the trio stepped outside.

Harry had decided that it would be best for all of them if they walked.

And so the Potter family strolled through the lively town, Lily dancing and squealing a few spaces ahead of them, Harry and Ginny chatting animatedly of their Hogwarts days and James silently bringing up the rear, keeping away from Lily.

During their stroll, the Potters were greeted by many of the townsfolk. Lily ran up and shook the hand of anyone who greeted her, Harry and Ginny merely nodded and James just glanced at them before looking away.

Soon enough, Lily was getting tired of running around in circles chasing birds so Harry treated his family to some ice-cream, mostly to try and cheer James up.

It didn't work.

As Ginny played with Lily in the park, Harry headed to James, seated on a park bench nearby.

"James?"

The kid was clearly sulking.

Harry sighed, "James, look, I know you want to go back to Hogwarts, but you can't and—"

James finished off, "—and it's my fault. I brought it upon myself. Right Dad?"

"Look, you're the one under punishment here, there's no need to make me feel bad."

The two watched Ginny and Lily play.

James broke the silence, "Mum doesn't know about Al, does she?"

Harry shook his head causing his son to say, "Well, when she does find out, she's going to kill you."

Harry quietly added, "She won't be the first to try."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

Suddenly, Harry grabbed his scar, which for some reason aching harder than it ever had.

James turned, "Dad! Dad!"

Ginny came over, "Harry!"

Lily asked, "What's wrong with Dad?"

Ginny called, "Harry! Harry!"

Harry didn't say anything, just clutched his forehead in pain.

Not wanting her children to find about her Hogwarts years, Ginny took hold of Harry and smacked him across the face.

It worked.

Harry came to his senses.

Ginny shoved some money into James' hand, "Go get some sweets you two."

Knowing not to argue with their mother, Lily grabbed hold of James' other hand and dragged him away.

Ginny sat down, "Your scar?"

Harry nodded.

Ginny asked, "When was the last one?"

Harry recalled, "At work, about a month ago."

The next few minutes were silent.

Ginny cautiously asked, "It's not—"

"No." said Harry a bit too firmly, "He died. End of."

"Then who…?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know, but whoever they are, they are not weak."

Ginny asked, "There isn't going to be another—"

Harry took hold of her hand, "Ginny, you're thinking too far ahead. There isn't going to be another war, I'm going to make sure of that."

Ginny smiled.

"Mum! Dad!"

The two turned and found Lily holding out two bars of chocolate for both of them.

The two accepted just as James appeared with his and Lily's.

The four Potters sat and ate their chocolate.

When they had finished, Ginny stood up, "We'd better head home. Teddy's coming round for dinner and someone has to make it."

James and Lily cheered, ultimately deciding to go home.

On the way home, Harry turned to James, "Also, James, you are not to interact with Teddy, or any of your cousins during your suspension."

James gaped, "What? But that's unfair!"

Harry replied, "Like I said before, you've a problem, take it to your Headmaster."

James huffed.

* * *

><p>Teddy Lupin Apparated into the Potter household, on time, as usual.<p>

He was greeted with Lily running over to hug him first.

From upstairs, James called, "Dad!"

Teddy perked up. Wasn't James supposed to be at Hogwarts?

Footsteps proved that James was headed downstairs.

Obeying his Headmaster, James walked by Teddy, and into the kitchen, calling for his parents.

Teddy turned to Lily, "What's James—"

Lily explained, "He got suspended."

"…oh. What for?"

Lily opened her mouth to explain when Harry walked in, "Lily."

The girl silenced.

Harry and Teddy greeted each other again.

James walked out of the kitchen and back up the stairs, angrily stomping all the way and slamming his bedroom door shut as hard as he could.

Harry rolled his eyes and commented, "I told her it was a bad idea."

Teddy curiously asked, "What was a bad idea?"

"Part of James' punishment, Ginny took away any and everything from his room that he would enjoy."

Teddy then asked, "What exactly did he do?"

"Tried to destroy the Sorting Hat."

Teddy stared then realised, "Isn't the Headmaster still—"

"Yes he is."

"I thought he would expel James."

Harry said, "It wasn't easy trying to talk him out of that."

Teddy stared in shock. He asked, "Who else knows?"

"Hermione, Ron, Hugo, Ginny and Lily know he tried to destroy the Hat, but apparently I'm the only one who knows why."

"Is Ginny going to kill you when she finds out?"

"Prob'bly."

* * *

><p>Dinner was in one word, awkward.<p>

Or quiet.

Or different.

James knew that it was punishment for trying to destroy the Sorting Hat, but really?

He was not to enjoy himself, nor have anyone to talk to. According to his Headmaster.

Whom James had decided, hated him probably more than Voldemort.

The only good thing that came out was that Lily had left him alone and decided to play with Teddy instead.

He had not said a word to anyone before, during or after dinner.

So after finishing his dinner, James headed upstairs into his own sanctuary.

At least he didn't have to hear remarks from Severus Snape until after the Christmas holidays.

Since James had often gotten into trouble, he had been sent to the Head's office more often than most students.

And it was there that James Sirius met Caper, Hircum, Albus Dumbledore and the ever annoying Severus Snape.

Dumbledore and Snape were portraits in the Head's office. Whilst Albus was nice and always smiling, Severus preferred comparing James to his paternal grandfather and calling both of them 'dunderheads'.

After James' first visit to the Head, he asked himself, 'What the _hell_ was Dad _thinking_ naming his second son after that greasy git of a Slytherin?'

James had not told Dumbledore or Snape that they were namesakes to Harry Potter's second son and clone. He had referred to his brother only as 'Al'.

For some reason, he wanted them to meet Al themselves.

Maybe they would know…

They taught Harry, of course they would know why everyone in the Wizarding World stared at, smiled at, randomly thanked and sent gifts to Harry. Sometimes Ron and Hermione as well.

And why Harry refused to tell them any parts of that story.

The adults all seemed to know it, and apparently so did some children of ordinary wizards and witches.

Despite the fact that he was a Gryffindor, James hated not knowing.

And when someone kept something from him, it just motivated him to find out what.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.

The door opened and Harry entered, a parcel in hand.

James sat up, careful not to get his hopes up.

Harry handed him the parcel, "From Hogwarts."

"But I thought_—_"

"It's an exception."

James nearly ripped open the package that would give Pigwidgeon a run for his money. Harry observed amusedly.

After a few seconds of staring blankly at the numerous scrolls of parchment, textbooks and quills, James cried out, "I still have to do my school work?!"

Harry suppressed a laugh, "Seems like your Professors don't want their 'star pupil' to get left behind."

James looked up and glared at his father with a ferocity that proved he was truly Ginny Weasley's son. And Molly Weasley's grandson.

Having dealt with the 'Weasley glare' before, numerous times, Harry left quietly, albeit with a satisfied grin etched upon his unnoticeable but slightly aged face.

As he closed the bedroom door, he heard the boy exclaim, "What does he mean I'll have a test the first day back?! Haven't I suffered enough?!"

Ginny laughed when Harry told her of this short episode, "Harsh, but he deserves it."

* * *

><p>At breakfast, Ginny asked her eldest and currently-only-present son, "So James, why <em>did<em> you try to destroy the Sorting Hat?"

Lily looked up. James froze. Ginny waited. Harry stared, also frozen.

James sneaked a look at his father as a plea for help. In reply, Harry cleared his throat, "I um… heard from Ron that… Charlie's coming for Christmas this year."

Ginny dismissed her still-famous husband, "Yea, I know."

James stood up and left muttering something along the lines of 'not hungry anymore', as well as something incomprehensible about Al.

Ginny turned to Harry for an explanation, "Wait till Al comes back."

The topic was cautiously avoided.

However, James had been more secluded then usual, and whenever he was out of his sanctuary, he's have a thoughtful expression on his face and have his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Harry thought it best to leave him be.


	5. The Forbidden Forest

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Al couldn't tell whether it was just him or not, but Hogwarts seemed a lot quieter without students yelling at James to stop pranking them. The teachers also seemed relieved as students stopped coming late to lessons or going to the Hospital Wing (usually occasional). It also seemed that without the distraction otherwise known as James, Lorcan and Fred were able to concentrate on their studies more. Although this pleased Rose, Al refrained from informing her about his doubt that Fred and Lorcan were concentrated on something that which was definitely <em>not<em> educational.

Through Arcus, parchment, quills and some ink, Al and Rose learned that Ginny was less disappointed in James whom was still assigned work. Al gave Rose a bit of a confused look when she said that James was lucky for this. No-one had stopped discussing James so Al had to be very careful to not be swarmed by his classmates so to discuss James when walking along. However, with Rose by his side, this was considerably easier.

Scorpius and Al spent most nights at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, not too far from the castle but not too close either. They didn't talk much but that didn't matter. They were different wizards, from different families and in different houses.

Rose was not fond of Al sneaking out at night and tried convincing him to 'stop this foolish behaviour' but being the stubborn-minded Potter that he is, Al shrugged her off. This seemed to work for the most part. He'd tell Rose what she wanted to hear, about not going out so late and then conveniently forget to inform her of it when he disobeyed her.

To any other sane person (such as Rose Weasley), the very idea of a Potter and a Malfoy within twenty metres of each other for more than ten seconds and not trying to kill each other was simply impossible but the fact of the matter was, that after an entire day of dealing with all the schoolwork, strict teachers, annoying students and many, _many_, stares, (sometimes sprinkled with whispers,) by the time they found comfort in the Forbidden Forest, Al and Scorpius had had so much that they just _could not_ care any less about anything else, much less how much they were supposed to hate each other.

* * *

><p>As the duo walked through the corridors, Rose continued, "…and Lily said that James gets back to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays."<p>

Al concluded, "So the next time we see James…"

"…will be at home."

Al turned a corner and just as quickly, retreated, pulling Rose with him. To which she replied, "Al, what are you thinking?!"

He shushed her, "It's _her_. That girl; she won't leave me alone!"

Rose's annoyance was replaced by confusion, "Who is she? Why's she still following you?"

Al had no answer — but she was scaring him — it was already the third week of October and she'd been following him since his second day.

A voice answered, "_She_ is Amity. Amity Castell." Al and Rose turned around to find Joyce Hanwell stood there, "And she's following you because Priscilla put her up to it."

Al asked, "_Why_?"

Joyce replied, "Because you're Harry Potter's son."

That made no sense. So his dad was Harry Potter; what was so special about that? Al asked, "So? What does that have to do with anything?"

She stared at both of them for a while before replying, "Have you never heard of Voldemort?"

Rose and Al both shook their heads as a 'no'. Joyce stared, expecting for them to come clean ad say they were joking, but that didn't happen. She then concluded, "You _really_ don't know, do you?"

Al shook his head whilst Rose asked, "What are you talking about? What is it that we don't know but everyone else seems to? What are you hiding?"

Joyce shook her head nonchalantly, "I'm not hiding anything. If you don't know, you don't know. Try asking your parents about Voldemort; who knows? You might end up learning something new. Now if you two mind, you're in my way, so if you could just…"

Rose and Al moved to give Joyce way who then carried on walking as if the conversation between them never happened. Meanwhile, whilst Al had the same clueless look on his face he has whenever Joyce leaves, Rose looked deep in thought all of a sudden.

* * *

><p>They had been at the library for two hours now and Rose had not scolded Al for procrastinating. Something was up. He nudged his cousin, "What's up with you?"<p>

Rose slowly replied, for once a bit unsure, "What Joyce said. Al — Al, d'you think Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry are hiding something from us?"

Come to think of it, Al had never really thought about it, "I — Dunno. Why?"

For a while, Rose struggled to find words, "It's just — I think Joyce might be onto something. I mean, what _do _we know about our parents' time at Hogwarts?"

Al replied, clueless as ever, "That Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron argued a lot. And that Dad became a Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team in his first year. What do you mean? That they saved the world or something during their time at Hogwarts?"

Rose, however, did not seem to be joking, "Al! Be serious! Dad and Uncle Harry are Aurors, right?"

Al nodded as his cousin continued, "Well, a wizard or witch need at least five N.E.W.T. qualifications if they want to be an Auror. But the thing is, there is absolutely _no record _of Dad _or _Uncle Harry's N.E.W.T. results. Not only that but there's no record of their seventh year either — and Mum's say that she finished in June 1998."

"So?"

Rose now sounded exasperated, having to explain something so obvious to her cousin, "_So_, that means she was nineteen when she finished Hogwarts — which can only _mean_ that she skipped a year."

Al was confused. Studious, hard-working Aunt Hermione would never skip a year of school, even if it killed her, "That's crazy, why would _Aunt Hermione_ of all people, skip a year of school?"

Rose thanked Merlin he understood, "_Exactly_. Why? I asked Mum a couple o'years ago and…"

Al leaned forward, "And… ?"

Rose finished her story, "…she took us to Hogsmeade."

Al stared. This was highly intriguing as the Weasley and Potter parents were known for only taking their children to Hogsmeade if they wanted to distract them. Al knew this story was real as it was how he ended up going to Hogsmeade too.

It was official.

Their parents were hiding something from them.

Al asked another question, "What about Voldemort?"

Rose shrugged, "That's just another thing we'll have to find out for ourselves."

Al got up, "I'll go ask Madam Pi—"

"_You will do no such thing_."

Al looked down at Rose who had both a fierce glare as well as a firm grip on his arm, preventing him from going anywhere. He sat back down and asked why.

Rose explained, "_Because_, it's obvious that they don't want us to know anything about it — we have to be very careful and subtle about this. You can't just go up to people and ask 'Hey, have you heard of Voldemort?' — it must be a very important subject if Mum and Dad have hidden it from us — plus, everyone thinks we already know. On top of not being in Gryffindor, and having a suspended brother, do you _want_ to look like a clueless idiot?"

Albus felt that Rose could've been a bit gentler and subtler with that last question. But this was their Rosie, and when she was serious about something, she was as harsh an angry Professor Vivier.

* * *

><p>Now, Al wasn't in Ravenclaw, but he wasn't stupid either. He knew boundaries. Sneaking out here at this time of night as well as lying was more than enough for annoying Rose but Al felt that what he about to do would be crossing the line for Rose. And if you crossed a line with Rose, you were lucky to be alive. Still, it's like Uncle George always said, 'don't knock 'till you've tried it'. Besides Joyce, whom would probably ignore him, Scorpius Malfoy was probably the only one Al could ask this and not be laughed at.<p>

So, using some of his inherited Gryffindor courage, Al opened his mouth, "Hey, Malfoy?"

Scorpius had his gaze on the ground, like he always did — but he wasn't rude. He replied Al with a "Hm?"

Al hesitated for a moment, "What — what do you know about Voldemort?"

The answer was almost instant, "That I hate him."

"Why?"

"Nothing of your concern."

Al felt that it was best not to push him. He had already crossed the line with Rosie.

They remained in a comfortable silence, both lost in their own thoughts. After a while, Al found he had decided wisely to remain silent as Scorpius admitted, "He's the reason my father doesn't smile."

Well, guess there's something new you learn everyday. For Al, this was today's new fact. Guess Joyce was right; again: '_don't pester, give people time and they'll open up on their own_'.

However, this victory of Al's, was short-lived and interrupted by the appearance of none other than his ever loving and caring cousin.

"Albus Severus Potter, I swear to _Merlin_, if you don't have a good reason for this, I will _personally_ rip you into shreds _limb_ from _limb_ and feed you to Hagrid's Venomous Tentacula!"

Despite the aura that Rose was emitting (which screamed that she was honest in her previous statement), Al gave her a small wave, "Nice to see you too Rosie."

Rose looked like she was about to burst, but she didn't — keeping in mind that she too, was out after curfew. She demanded, "_Well_, what _are_ you doing out here?"

Al shrugged. Rose looked like she was about to strangle him right there and then, "Al, I thought I told you that you need to stop coming out here!"

Al stood up, "Let's get one thing straight Rose, you — are not — my mother. So — stop telling me what I can and can't do."

Rose countered, "Well, your mother isn't here as you can see! Someone _obviously_ needs to keep you in line because if someone doesn't then—"

Scorpius stood up, "Could you two be quiet?"

Rose and Al stared at him questioningly as he calmly continued, "I know it is hard for you two to realise this, but you're not the only ones here right now. And as much as I _love_ hearing you two argue, I'm positive there are other creatures here in the Forest who won't be too happy about it."

That silenced the two cousins. Rose gathered herself, "Fine then, if you two suicidal gits want to stay out here — be my guests! I'm going back to the castle."

She turned to leave when Scorpius' eyes widened in realisation as he held out a hand to stop her from moving any further, "Wait!"

Rose turned around, "What is it _this_ time?"

He made a shushing motion with his fingers, confusing both of them. Albus noticed the blonde boy looked very distressed and shocked, instead of his usual calm, monotone self. Cautiously, and a bit terrified that something was going to horribly wrong, he bravely moved forward and pulled Rose to his side.

Al whispered, keeping Scorpius' 'stay silent' warning, "What's wrong Malfoy? Why d'you look so scared for?"

Scorpius was staring at the direction Rose was about to walk into — except Scorpius seemed as if he could see something — something Al and Rose couldn't. Without taking his eyes off it, Scorpius asked, "Can't you see it?"

Rose asked, not whispered, "See wh—?"

Scorpius had covered her mouth with his hand. She pulled it off, clearly frustrated, "What is _wrong_ with you? I'm — I'm going back."

He called after her, "No, wait! Don't!"

Rose stopped walking and suddenly looked deathly scared. Scorpius realised this and said, "Don't say anything, and don't make any sudden movements."

Albus had never seen his cousin so scared in his entire life. He asked again, "Malfoy, _what is it_?"

Scorpius finally replied, "I'm not sure… but I really hope it's not what I think it is…"

Rose whispered so quietly, Al barely heard her, "What do you think it is?"

"A Thestral."

Rose gasped. Out of shock or fear, Al wasn't sure. Slowly, and very cautiously, Rose took a step back. Nothing happened. She took another — still safe and well. However, upon her third step, she accidentally stepped on a twig breaking it in half. The next thing Al heard was a very loud shrill shriek that sounded like it was only a few feet away — which by the way Scorpius looked — it probably was.

The source of the shriek rose above ground level, as if the creature emitting was flying but soon, the shriek soared above them and behind Scorpius and Rose. Al was confused as hell. He asked, "Will _someone_ tell me what in_Merlin's name_ is going on here?"

Scorpius answered, "There's a Thestral."

"How can you tell?"

"I can _see_ it."

Al was confused, "How come I can't then?"

Rose answered, more monotone than usual, avoiding Scorpius' gaze, "Thestrals can only be seen by people who've seen death."

Then, suddenly pretending as if she hadn't said that, Rose turned to Scorpius, "What's it doing here?"

Scorpius looked uncertain, "Apparently there's a Hogwarts herd of Thestral, but I doubt it's one of Hogwarts; they've been taught to recognise students — I don't know — maybe it's a stray or something. But it looks like it's damaged its wing and it can't fly very high."

Despite their situation, Rose sympathised with the invisible (but very loud) creature, "Poor thing…"

After a while of Scorpius staring at something, probably the Thestral, he quietly said, "You two should go."

Al stepped forward in defiance, "_Why_?"

Rose instead, sneaked behind Scorpius, away from both the boys and the creature and gestured Al to come with. Al refused to leave Scorpius behind. To this, the young Malfoy replied, "It's pointless for you to stay out here — I'm the only one (apparently) who can even see the Thestral. You two, leave. I'll catch up with you."

Al hesitated but he believed that Scorpius would catch up. He approached Rose and the two cousins left for the castle. Al began to regret his decision to leave behind Scorpius. He was about to say this when Rose interrupted his train of thought, "We need to find a professor."

She began to continue inside but Al realised what she was about to do and pulled her back, "_Are you crazy?!_ We can't tell the professors we were out after curfew — you don't _want_ a detention, do you?"

Rose contemplated about what to do whilst Al watched on towards the Forest, hoping Scorpius would show up already. For a few minutes, the night was still. With every passing minute, Al grew worried. Rose turned to go inside when her cousin asked, "Where are you going?"

She stared at him as if he'd grew another eye, and answered, "To bed. It's been a long day and I'm not getting involved with you two. I'll just get into trouble. You should go back to your dormitory too if you know what's best for you."

Al didn't move. Rose sighed, then nudged her cousin, "Hey, he'll be fine, alright? You don't have to worry about him all the time. Come on, let's go to sleep and tomorrow, when you see him, you'll know that there was nothing to worry about."

Reluctantly, and very, _very_ slowly, Al trudged towards the dungeons, following his cousin whom was headed for Ravenclaw tower. He noted something and found his voice, "Y'know, for someone who hates Malfoy so much, you seem to really believe in him."

She didn't turn around to yell at him. Instead, she merely said, "Shut up."

* * *

><p>Next morning, Al would deem Rose wrong, since there was no Malfoy at the Gryffindor table during breakfast. She told him to wait. Joyce didn't know about the Thestral-incident, but still, as she left, she smacked Al with her Transfiguration textbook, hoping it'd knock some sense into him. (Which it probably didn't.)<p>

Al considered heading for the Forbidden Forest in between lessons but instead he learned just how firm a grip Rose could hold. She had dragged him out to Transfiguration, a lesson the Slytherins had with the Gryffindors. Rose left him under the care of Joyce whom pulled him by his ear and left him at his seat. There were a few minutes before Professor Vivier was going to arrive so Joyce instead sat by him and asked, "Have you _already_forgotten _everything_ I told you about _not_ pestering Malfoy?"

Al refrained from telling her about the apparent Thestral. He knew she was right about giving people space, but as an eleven year old, wasn't it acceptable to worry about another eleven year old when the last time he'd been seen was when he had been abandoned with a Thestral at night?

Knowing he had tested Rose's patience enough for a year, Al sighed and gave in to Joyce's words, even if she didn't know the whole story.

Slowly, but eventually, the morning passed by. As dinner hour finally reached, and Al headed for the Great Hall, he noticed that some of the third-years were missing. At the Slytherin table, Lysander Scamander reminded him that they were at Hogsmeade. It was then that Al realised James was missing his first time to Hogsmeade with his Hogwarts friends. But what he didn't notice that Fred and Lorcan refused to go without James — which was very loyal of them. Taking his mind off James, Al asked Lysander, "Hey, d'you think I'll make a good Slytherin?"

Lysander didn't give him any false hope (which any responsible parent or mentor would do) — instead, he merely (and unhelpfully) said, "That's for you to decide."

Al didn't know if it was Slytherin or if it was just Lysander being himself, but he was just no help with being his (only) Slytherin mentor-figure.

* * *

><p>When the young Potter boy was leaving his last lesson of the day — which uninterestingly enough, was History of Magic — his Professor <em>and<em> Head of House, Mauro Queavillon, was calling after him, reminding Al of his to-be-written long essay for next week. Groaning inside, Albus headed for the library — the only place Rose would be right now.


	6. The First Challenge

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p><strong>For later on: <strong>"Aqui" is pronounced "ah-kee" & "Aquila" is pronounced "uh-kee-lah".

* * *

><p>True to his prediction, Rose was indeed in the Hogwarts library. There was no mistaking that puff of Weasley red hair hunched over an unfamiliar textbook. However, what Al found more shocking than surprising was that Scorpius Malfoy was sat across Rose; both struggling to remain impartial at the sight of each other. Despite their uncomfortable atmosphere, both seemed to be in conversation and neither had noticed Albus.<p>

Then, both stopped talking and Scorpius stood up and headed towards the exit. When he passed by Al, Scorpius paused and said, "You should stop visiting the Forest if you know what's best for you — it's still there."

Without giving Al a chance to reply, Scorpius left the library. Slowly, Al made his way to Rose (who was flipping through the textbook) and sat down opposite her. He asked, "What were you and Malfoy talking about?"

"This," Rose pushed the textbook towards her cousin, "is what was in the Forest last night."

It was a black winged horse, bones clearly defined through its translucent and glossy coat, with wide bat-like leather-y wings sprouting from its back and a rather reptilian, dragon-like face. Its dark mane and dark coloured tail blended well with the eerie creature's nature. Its eyes were white; without any pupils. The fangs were prominent, as the creature had its mouth open, as if calling out to another one of its own. Even though it was only a depiction of the real thing, Al felt the dark creature had an eerie, fearsome feel to it. The text named the creature a "Thestral".

Al studied the creature for a while before asking Rose, "This is what Malfoy saw?"

She nodded. Al continued reading on. He soon asked, "What's it mean by 'seen by only those who've seen death'?"

Rose closed the textbook, "It means you can only see them if you've seen someone die."

A thoughtful silence befell them. Al turned to the door through which Scorpius had left, "I wonder whose death it was he saw…"

Rose stood up, taking the book with her, "Whoever it was, it's none of our business. Leave him be, Al."

She left to place the textbook where she'd found it on the shelf, leaving Al by himself.

* * *

><p>"Oy, Malfoy!"<p>

Scorpius stopped walking and turned around to find Joyce Hanwell headed his way. Besides Potter, Joy was the only other person in the whole of Hogwarts to treat him with any decency. She had tried to help him relax, give him the hope and impression that not _everyone_ despised his existence, by making regular small talk throughout the past several weeks. Although Scorpius was thankful for her attempts at kindness, he really wanted to be alone right now.

She caught up with him, and noticed the dreadful and slightly annoyed look in his grey eyes, "What, sick of me already?"

They started walking and Scorpius shook his head. He didn't give her any other reply. After a while, she asked, "Penny for your thoughts?"

He looked at her puzzled. She laughed and patted his shoulder, "Sorry, I forgot! It's a Muggle expression; it's a way of asking what you're thinking about — I'd give a penny to know your thoughts."

He raised an eyebrow, "Waste of money though, isn't it?"

She laughed, "It's an expression! I wouldn't really! I doubt anyone would."

Scorpius only grew more confused, "Then why say you would?"

Joy rolled her eyes and lightly punched his arm, "It's an expression you idiot! A figure of speech; a way of speaking where you don't mean what you say literally!"

Scorpius refrained from questioning Muggles and their "expressions" as it would only further irk the redhead beside him. She took a deep breath, then asked, "What I mean is, what's bothering you?"

Scorpius struggled to phrase his situation, "I don't — understand… why Potter is so — ignorant of the feud between our families. It's like… he doesn't know anything."

Joyce replied, "Well, with everything that's happened, d'you really think the Potters or Weasleys would proclaim their success to everyone who walks by?"

He looked at her strangely, "No, of course not! It makes much more sense to pretend it never happened — then if you forget about it, you might have a much more normal life."

She gave him a knowing smile, "Well there you have it. Don't you think that maybe he wants to befriend you because you're both the same?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Me and him have _nothing_ in common."

Joy put her hands behind her and looked up at as she walked, "I don't think so — I mean, did you both not shock everyone when you both were placed into the House opposite of your expectation? Don't you both know what it's like to be compared to your fathers due to the resemblance?"

Scorpius sighed in defeat. Joy was right — yet again. But she continued, "Maybe if you stop pushing away the only person who's trying to be nice to you — you might find that you have more in common than you think. And who knows — you might make a friend."

She gave him a pointed look, "Come on, you can choose your friends — and after he's trying so hard just to get you to speak to him, the least you can do is acknowledge his existence."

He replied, "But a Potter and a Malfoy as friends is unheard of — it's — it's nonsense!"

Joy only smiled knowingly, "Up until a while ago, a Gryffindor Malfoy; a Ravenclaw Weasley; a Slytherin Potter and a Muggle-born Slytherin — that was all unheard of — and yet, here we are."

Scorpius looked at her strangely, "You're Muggle-born?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Didn't I tell you that?"

He shook his head. She shrugged, "Ah well, now you know. But that aside, have you heard from Aqui?"

He shook his head again, "I don't know if she got the letter yet; she does live quite far away after all."

Joy nodded, "Well, you keep hope and let me know when you get a reply, m'kay?"

Scorpius smiled, glad that there was someone like Joy at Hogwarts, "Sure thing Joy."

Her gaze grew sharper, "And think about what I said."

He nodded in defeat, "Alright!"

She smiled at him one last time before heading towards the dungeons.

* * *

><p>The next afternoon, Albus followed his cousin.<p>

"_Please_, Rosie!"

Rose clutched her books tighter and quickened her pace, "For the last time, _no_."

Albus tried to keep up, "Why not?"

She stopped abruptly and turned to face the boy, "Because, it's _your_ homework. _You_ have to do it."

Al sighed, "But it's History of Magic — you know how terrible I am at History of Magic!"

Rose shook her head, "I don't care. Do it yourself."

Al noticed Scorpius walking by them and pulled him by the arm, "Malfoy!"

Rose took a deep breath, one of her 'oh-Merlin-why-do-_I_-have-to-suffer-this-torture' looks. Al noticed this as Scorpius freed himself of Al's grasp, "What do you want?"

Al grinned mischievously — strongly resembling and proving his relation to James Sirius Potter, "I have a proposal for you both."

Rose and Scorpius watched him expectantly. Albus continued, "You guys have a Transfiguration test coming up in a couple of days, right?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow and Rose grew annoyed, "_And_?"

Albus turned to Rose first, "Rosie, if you score higher than Malfoy on the test, I'll won't ask for your help on any school work for a month." He turned to Malfoy, "However, if you, Malfoy, score higher than Rosie here, she'll do my homework for the next month."

After a while of silence, Scorpius shook his head. Rose rolled her eyes, "_No_! This is stupid!"

They both started to walk off when Albus called after them, "Well, if you're both afraid you'll lose, there's no shame in admitting it!"

Both stopped abruptly, and the next thing Al remembered was both their faces only a few feet away, yelling at him with the same amount of ferocity, "I'm not afraid of losing to the likes of him/her!"

Albus asked, triumph present in his tone of voice, "So you both accept my challenge?"

As a sign of mutual agreement, Scorpius held out his hand for Rose. She stared at his pale hand, then turned to Al, "You'll do your own work for how long?"

Albus replied, "A month."

Rose corrected, "The whole year."

Al retorted, "Until the Christmas holidays. But if you lose, you'll do all my homework until the Christmas holidays."

Rose pondered this, then replied, "Fine."

Albus cheered silently as Rose shook Scorpius' as a sign of acceptance. She held on longer and muttered quietly so Al wouldn't hear, "But if I win, _you_ won't speak to _any_ of us _ever_ again."

She then let go and walked off, headed for the library. Albus turned around to face Scorpius, a look of desperation present on his face, "Look Malfoy, I know you hate me and everything, but please, you _have_ to do this favour for me! Just this once and I'll never bother you again!"

Scorpius' expression became impartial as he corrected, "I don't hate you."

Albus raised an eyebrow, "Then how come — ?"

Scorpius interrupted, "You're just really clueless."

This greatly confused Al, but Scorpius held up a hand, "Never mind how. If you want me to take this seriously, let me study."

He then walked off. Albus followed Scorpius, just to make sure he would win.

* * *

><p>At the library, Scorpius finally interrupted Albus, "Do you <em>want<em> Weasley to win?"

Al gave him a puzzled look, "Of course not!"

Scorpius replied, "Then _stop talking_! I am trying to study here, trying to do you a favour and you're just constantly throwing me off track with your useless talking! How in Merlin's name Weasley manages to put up with you is beyond me!"

That silenced Albus. Scorpius sighed and turned back to his textbook. After a while of just staring at the table, Al sat up and asked, "What if I help you study?"

Scorpius looked at him weirdly, "Wouldn't that be an unfair advantage?"

Al shrugged it off, "Whatever it takes to win this — I _need_ Rose's help to get past this — with already being in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, at least I'll have something to show for it when we get back home. And besides, this way, you'll have a better chance of beating Rosie."

Despite that very Slytherin-like speech, Scorpius shrugged, "Alright — it's your bet."

Another score for Albus. He got up from across Scorpius and moved over to sit next to him and the two began their quest to defeat their freckled opponent.

* * *

><p>Rose, annoyed at both her cousin and that stupid Malfoy for this stupid bet, just could not concentrate on her work. She hated them both, Malfoy for managing to beat her in most tests; and Al for being such a Slytherin-like git. And betting on homework! Idiots, the lot of them!<p>

She was on the other side of the library, unaware that Al was helping Malfoy pass this stupid test and beat her.

"Hey."

Rose looked up to see the familiar girl who had warned her and Al about the latter's Slytherin stalker and Voldemort. Rose in confusion, slowly put her textbook on the table, "Hey…"

Joyce Hanwell sat down and asked, "Potter and Malfoy are working together to make sure you lose. I thought maybe, you could use an extra mind — y'know, to make it fair."

Rose asked, "He's _helping_ Malfoy now?"

Joyce nodded, "I'll show you — come on."

She got up and Rose soon followed. Joy led her through a maze of bookshelves before sneaking her head around a corner and pointing at a table, "There."

Rose found them. Al was holding up a textbook, away from Scorpius' eyes whom was telling him something. Rose fumed, "Of all the — Albus — I'm going to _murder_ him!"

Joyce pulled her back, "Whoa there, tiger. Two can play this game — it's your choice whether you want to or not."

Rose took a deep breath before nodding, "Right. Come on then. Time is knowledge."

She was pretty sure the saying went 'time is money', but Joyce followed the Ravenclaw nevertheless.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Joyce found Al asleep on one of the sofas in the Slytherin Dungeon. His Hogwarts robe was dangling on one of the arms of the sofa and he was lying lopsided on the couch, glasses nearly falling off.<p>

Joyce chuckled, "Idiot."

She took off his glasses and put them down on the table closest to Al. She then took his robe and then, using it as a blanket, covered him with it and headed down to the Slytherin girls' dormitory. On the way, she found Priscilla Angell waiting expectantly for her, "What d'you think you're doing; getting in my way?"

Joyce shrugged, "I don't know — maybe it's fate."

Priscilla growled, "You're just a _Mudblood_ — unnecessary filth. How did you even _get_ into Slytherin?"

Joyce smiled teasingly, "Only a true Slytherin could convince the Sorting Hat to let a Mudblood into Slytherin, don't you think so?"

Priscilla gave a slightly confused look, "But you _hate_ Slytherins."

Joyce shrugged, "It's like they say, keep your friends close, and your enemies, closer."

Priscilla folded her arms, "You don't have friends."

Joyce replied, "Better keep my enemies real close than, shouldn't I?" She folded her arms, "Besides, Potter's an easy target — gotta make sure people like you don't take advantage of that." Joyce took a step closer, and whispered, "I know you're not Priscilla. But whoever you are, as long as I'm here, you won't lay a _hand_ on Potter."

Priscilla took a step back, "Of course I'm Priscilla — why wouldn't I be?"

Joyce shook her head, "Don't give me that crap — I don't have time to deal with lies. I know who you're not and keep in mind — I'm watching you."

She began to head for her dormitory, but before Joyce shut the door, she smiled at Priscilla, "Oh by the way, that's a really strong Polyjuice Potion — let's see how long it lasts."

Joyce closed the door and when she was sure she was alone, Priscilla's eyes glowed red, and in a deep voice, out came the words, "I need to kill her before she ruins anything. We _will_ have Potter. A stupid, little Mudblood is not going to get in our way. She must die."

* * *

><p>On Friday morning, the fated day, in Potions, Albus rubbed his eye. Joyce chuckled at the sight of his dishevelled-self, "Had a good night's sleep?"<p>

He gave her a pointed look, "I'm not in the mood. I _really_ don't want to sit through two whole hours of Potions — I just _know _we're going to get homework."

Joyce asked, "You'll be fine — it's just Potions. Besides, don't you have that bet with your cousin? Don't you find out the results today?"

Albus sat up, "Oh yeah!"

Slughorn clapped his hands, "Today, you shall all re-create the Cure for Boils."

The students groaned.

Adora Castell asked, "But Professor, we learned the Cure for Boils last month!"

Slughorn replied, "Exactly Miss Castell — the more often you practice something, the better you are at it, so come on! The potion isn't going to make itself!"

Annoyed about this on a Friday afternoon, the students one by one trudged off their seats and began their task.

Albus was lucky Slughorn let them choose their pairs because he simply pretended-to-work-but-really-sleep whilst Joyce completed the task. Although half-asleep, he had expected her to pelt him with the horned slugs, but she didn't. He didn't voice this thought; in case she _did_ pelt him with the horned slugs.

As it was a Friday afternoon, Slughorn assigned no homework. Whenever a pair finished their potion, Slughorn would check it and then let the pair leave class early.

Luckily for Albus, Joyce finished sooner than he thought (unless he had slipped out of consciousness for a while) and they were the second pair to leave the classroom, after Austin Venesse and Amity Castell.

* * *

><p>As soon as he was out, Albus headed for the library, probably where Rose was.<p>

He found Rose sat at a table, rolling up a scroll of parchment, looking so angry she might've burst. But she wasn't alone.

Scorpius was leaning on said table, smiling about something. It was the very first time in his life that Albus had seen the Malfoy boy smile. As he approached them, he heard Scorpius laugh, "Come on, it's not that bad Weasley." and Rose reply, "Shut your face Malfoy! I don't need _you_ of all people commenting on this!"

Albus asked, "So, um, how did the test go?"

Rose stood up rather stiffly, shoved three rolls of parchment into Albus' grasp, grabbed her bag and stormed out of the library. Scorpius laughed.

Albus looked down at the parchment and then back up at Scorpius who replied, "It's your homework."

It took a while to sink in. Al asked, "Rosie lost?"

Scorpius nodded nonchalantly, "By half a mark, too."

Albus cringed, "Ooh, she's going to kill me."

Scorpius patted his shoulder, "At least instead of focusing your worries on homework, you can now focus on Weasley chopping your head off."

The two boys laughed.

* * *

><p>On the way to the Dungeons, to dump Al's homework in his dorm, Albus and Scorpius passed by a couple of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw girls, gathered around one Gryffindor.<p>

Naturally curious, Albus stopped and asked, "What's going on?"

May Cherlewe (as Scorpius introduced) replied, "Haven't you heard?"

Al asked, "Heard what?"

May leaned closer to Al and Scorpius, "Mary says she's seen a woman in the Forest."

Scorpius asked, "A woman?"

The girl in question, Mary Burton (again, Scorpius introduced) nodded, "Yea, she was definitely there. She had long black hair, dark robes and she looked a bit Asian. Chinese or Japanese or Korean or something like that. She was petting something — something invisible."

Albus asked, "Did she see you?"

Mary Burton shook her head, "She was talking to the creature though, I think."

Scorpius asked, "What did she say?"

The Gryffindor girl tried to recall, "Something about milkshakes and princesses."

Albus and Scorpius gave each other confused looks and Mary Burton burst out, "_I'm not lying_! _Or crazy_!"

One of the Ravenclaw girls (Letitia "Rae" Blyton?) rubbed her back, "No-one said you were Mary, it's okay."

Albus was surprised to find Mary's eyes watering, as she sniffed, "I know what I saw… and I know what I heard!"

Rae Blyton soothed her, like an older sister, "I believe you Mary — come on, don't cry."

Albus didn't like crying girls, they were horrible, so instead he said, "Hey, Mary, wasn't it?" The watery-eyed girl looked up and nodded slightly. Al continued, "Hey, if you say you know what you saw and heard, I believe you!"

Mary Burton blinked in surprise and Rae Blyton raised a suspicious eyebrow. Albus turned to Scorpius, "And Malfoy here believes you too, don't you, Malfoy?"

Despite giving Albus a why-are-you-dragging-_me_-into-this look, Malfoy nodded, "Yeah! Of course, I believe you!"

Mary wiped her eyes and smiled, "Thank you."

Albus smiled back, "You're welcome."

He then waved goodbye and him and Scorpius carried on towards the Dungeons.

When they were out of sight, Scorpius raised an eyebrow at Albus, "What was that about?"

Albus replied sheepishly, "I can't help it — I hate seeing girls cry — I always feel guilty about it and I don't even know why!"

Scorpius laughed. Albus glared at him. Scorpius commented, "You're soft, Potter."

Albus argued, "I — can't — help — it!"

That only caused Scorpius to burst out laughing again.


	7. Initial Enigma

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p><strong>For this chapter: <strong>"_Arminger_" is pronounced "_ahr-min-juhr_."

* * *

><p>"I feel so used."<p>

Rose sat down beside her cousin, dumping another roll of parchment — which was most likely Al's Charm's essay — on the Table. Albus swallowed and thanked her for the homework.

She replied him with a "Oh shut up Al. There's no need to rub it in my face."

Albus looked at Scorpius (whom was seated across him) in confusion. The trio were seated at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall, finishing off their breakfast. Scorpius, who had finished long ago, turned to Rose, "I think you're over-reacting Weasley."

Al agreed, "Yea — I mean — you've lost to Malfoy tons of times! Why should this be any different?"

Scorpius refrained from laughing. Rose, meanwhile, looked like she was about to take the jug of orange juice and spill it over her cousin's head. Al bowed his head in shame, "Sorry." He carried on with breakfast quietly.

Rose rubbed her forehead in frustration. Scorpius asked, "You okay?"

She locked eyes with him for the first time that morning, "Do I_ look okay_? I have _his_ homework to do; _my own_ to do; because I _lost_ to _you_ — by _half a mark —_ no less; and I'm constantly thinking about how my dad's going to _kill_ me when I get home and _you're_ bloody asking me if '_I'm okay_'?"

Scorpius apologised, "Alright, sorry for asking!"

Joyce approached the trio, "Yo."

Rose rested her head on the Table with a loud groan. Joyce looked at her, "Well — good morning to you too Weasley…!"

Joyce then sat down beside Scorpius. She looked up, "Post's here."

About a hundred owls flew in again, each searching for their owners. Joyce glanced over at the Slytherin Table to find Priscilla Angell receive a letter at which she smiled. Her attention was then stolen by a young eagle owl that landed on the table next to Scorpius; a letter tied to its leg. Joyce sat up, "Is it Aqui?"

Scorpius replied, "Let me open it first!"

Rose slowly sat up and the three first-years waited. Scorpius finally retrieved the letter, opened it up and read it and then smiled. Joyce stared at him pointedly — both clearly aware what she wanted to know. Scorpius folded up the letter, thanked his owl who left and replied, "Good news. Aqui's coming round this Christmas."

Joyce smiled, "That's great — you haven't seen each other in what? A year?"

Scorpius nodded. Then, Albus asked, "Who's Aqui?"

"My only cousin."

Rose asked, "How come you've not seen your cousin in a year?"

Scorpius hesitated, "Aqui's family… they — they live abroad."

"…oh."

No-one spoke for a while. Al realised how different him and Scorpius were. Whilst Al would give anything to be rid of his many — _many_ cousins and siblings; Scorpius got to see his only cousin once a year. It must be really lonely for him.

Another owl came by, this time, with a letter for Joyce whom rolled her eyes and muttered, "This better not waste my time."

She opened up the letter, and read through. She stared at it for a while, then wrote down a short reply. She'd asked her owl, "Make sure this gets back to Taylor. _Don't let Emma find out_."

The owl flew off. Before anyone could ask Joyce anything (which they all didn't dare), she got up and left the Great Hall.

The trio sat in silence until the owls left the Great Hall — this also was enough time for Albus to finally finish his breakfast. But they remained seated. Al asked Scorpius, "Should we go to the Forest?"

Scorpius had a thoughtful expression, "I don't know — she must've just been imagining things…"

Rose burst out, "Why in Merlin's name would you two want to go back to the Forest? What if — that Thestral — it's probably still there!"

Albus replied, "Haven't you heard?"

Rose looked puzzled as Scorpius explained, "Mary Burton reckons she's seen a woman in the Forest."

Rose looked even more confused as she asked the two boys, "So — just because — _some girl_ said she's seen _a woman_ in the Forest; that's a good enough excuse for you two to go back?"

The two boys shrugged and Al reasoned, "Well — we are pretty bored."

Rose groaned. Then decided, "I'm coming with you!"

Scorpius gave her a confused look, "I thought you didn't want trouble."

She replied, gesturing to her cousin, "Obviously not! But as _his official babysitter —_ I've to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble!"

Al contradicted, "You are _not_ my babysitter — you just follow me around because you need someone to boss and nag!"

Rose frowned, "I am not bossy!"

Al laughed, "Right — and Uncle George has both ears."

Scorpius looked at the duo strangely at this comment. Rose folded her arms and turned facing away from Al. He ignored this action of hers and turned to Scorpius, "Hey, d'you remember how Mary said that the woman was petting something invisible?"

Scorpius nodded and Al suggested, "What if it's that Thestral we ran into?"

Scorpius considered this, "It would make sense if the woman could see the Thestral but Mary couldn't."

A brief silence. Al asked, "You can see Thestrals, can't you?"

Scorpius nodded, already dreading where this was headed.

But instead of another question, Scorpius heard a thud. He looked up and saw that Al was cringing in pain and Rose was glaring at Al, whispering, "_What did I tell you?!_"

He smiled at how close the two were, bickering and arguing, but only because they loved each other. This must be what it's like to have a friend. Joy's words rang in his head as he recalled that if he wanted a friend, he was going to have to come out of his shell. So that's what he did.

Instead of waiting for them to settle, Scorpius struggled a bit getting the words out, "It — She — My gra— My grandmother — died — a couple of years ago."

Both Albus and Rose turned to him — completely forgetting their argument. Scorpius began to feel a bit uncomfortable under their stares.

Rose broke the silence, "I'm really sorry — You didn't have to—"

Scorpius shook his head and gave a small smile, "No — I — It feels better — telling someone."

Then, Scorpius laughed.

Albus asked, "What's so funny?"

Scorpius replied, "I feel so stupid — I've never actually said my grandmother died since she did — I was afraid and I don't even know why — and that I was scared of something so stupid — I don't know — it just seems laughable!"

Albus just smiled and shook his head at Scorpius whom was still laughing. Rose stared at Scorpius — deep in thought. She had only now come to realise how insensitive she'd been. The poor boy had so much to overcome in his life.

For one, he had been judged by so many — including herself; Rose was ashamed to admit — just by his last name. He had been Sorted into Gryffindor; alone and shocked himself. And by the sound and look of it, none of the Gryffindors even acknowledged Scorpius' existence. He also had his family to break the news to — and from what Rose had heard; Lucius Malfoy was not a forgiving man. At home, he had no siblings; so it was obviously very lonely — and even his only cousin he only got to see once a year. Plus, he'd lost his grandmother and hadn't told anyone about it.

As well as all that, Scorpius also managed to somehow put up with all the bullying he had received over the past month and a half. And to top it all off, Rose was horribly and unfairly hostile to him all because of some probably-exaggerated stories that her uncles and father had told her. And after all this, instead of hearing him complain, she heard him laugh; Scorpius Malfoy truly was a Gryffindor.

And so, after her Ravenclaw analytic skills showed her how unfair she was being to a boy who already had so much to deal with, it was then that Rose Weasley decided that she would not make life worse for Scorpius Malfoy.

Her first course of action was giving him a smile; which he returned.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Scorpius and Albus were walking back from Defence Against the Dark Arts.<p>

"Thank Merlin that's over!" Scorpius voiced.

Albus could not agree more.

It wasn't that Defence Against the Dark Arts was _bad_ or anything … it was that — Professor Arminger (A/N: "ahr-min-juhr") was a bit — intimidating. And for the first-years; he was absolutely terrifying. Just about as terrifying as Headmaster Dumbledore himself. So the first-years were always relieved when they managed to leave the classroom alive; although they never showed this until they were sure they were at least a hundred feet away from the D.A.D.A. classroom in case Arminger heard them.

"Oy, Potter!"

The duo turned around to find Priscilla Angell headed for them and asked Scorpius, "Hey, Malfoy, you don't mind if I borrowed Potter here for a second, do you?"

Scorpius and Albus shared a puzzled look before Scorpius gathered himself, "Um — I guess not…"

Without giving either of them a chance to react, Priscilla Angell smiled and dragged Albus away down the corridor. Scorpius lost sight of them when they turned a corner.

Scorpius stood there for a while wondering what in Merlin's name Priscilla Angell wanted with Potter. He didn't have long to ponder about this as the sound of footsteps proved that Joy was running towards him. She asked, "Have you seen Angell?"

Scorpius stared at her for a while before replying, "Yea — she came by and dragged Potter off to who-knows-where." Joy's eyes grew sharper as she waited for Scorpius to finish. "They went that way, I think."

For some unusual reason, Joy looked like she was in a rush. Which meant it must be important — Joyce Hanwell _never_ rushed. She thanked him and followed his directions; calling back, "Weasley was headed for Gryffindor Tower a couple o'minutes ago — you can still catch her!"

Since Scorpius had literally just been abandoned; he decided to follow through with Joy's suggestion of finding Rose — Joy never said anything that was unnecessary. If she'd told him to go find Rose, it was for a reason. So Scorpius Malfoy turned around and headed for Gryffindor Tower; in hopes that he may run into Rose on the way there.

* * *

><p>The moment they had turned a corner and were out of sight, Priscilla Angell broke into a run; dragging Al with her to wherever she was headed.<p>

"_Where are we going?_"

No reply.

Okay, this was annoying.

Albus felt that he was being too patient with her so he dragged them both to a halt and demanded to know what it was this damn girl wanted.

She looked to be in a gleeful hurry, "You'll never believe what I found in the Forest!"

Albus did a double-take, "What were you doing in the Forest?"

She brushed him off, "Oh, please! I _know_ for a fact that I'm not the only one who goes wandering into the Forest!"

Whether she meant him or not, Albus Potter did not know. He remained silent. She didn't say anything either. Suddenly, she jerked her head into the direction they had just come from. In a sudden hurry, she shoved Albus into the nearest empty classroom and followed inside. She'd also told him to shut up and stay quiet. Whilst Albus (as quietly as he could) tried to collect himself, Priscilla Angell peeked outside to make sure whoever was there had gone.

Whilst waiting for the corridor to be clear, Albus was sure he heard Priscilla mutter something along the lines of, "Stupid Mudblood."

Being Harry Potter's son, Albus decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Priscilla then slowly and quietly opened the door — grabbed Albus and was running in the direction of the Forest again. Albus seemed to notice that for an eleven year old girl, Priscilla had a really rough, firm grasp on his arm. On the way, Albus was also sure he caught a glimpse of a familiar puff of blood red hair which could only be —

* * *

><p>Rose turned a corner and nearly ran into Scorpius — "Oh!"<p>

He looked expectant. Rose gave him a puzzled look to which he replied, "Heard you were headed for Gryffindor Tower."

Rose suddenly unsure — stumbled out a reply, "Oh … yes, well — I just thought if we're going to the Forest because of the woman … it might be useful to find out anything we can — and — Mary Burton seems to be the only one who's seen the woman … so …"

"That seems reasonable." Scorpius agreed. Noticing Rose's hesitation about her idea, he asked what was wrong.

Rose gave him a strange look, then realising she had no other choice — with an exasperated sigh, she sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall and hugged her knees, and bowed her head, away from the world. Quietly, Scorpius joined her and waited for a reply.

His patience was rewarded when she looked up and started to speak, "It's just — all my cousins are in Gryffindor and then there's me — the disappointment. I don't know — with me wearing this stupid blue tie and surrounded by all their red and gold — I don't know — I feel kind of left out. I mean — I'm a Weasley! Gryffindor is our home! Every Weasley before me was in Gryffindor and I've just — ruined everything. I can't — I'm just not ready to face them." She took a shaky breath and wiped her eyes before any tears were shed. She then slowly turned to him, "Why don't you go instead of me?"

He gave her a look, "_No_." Scorpius then stood up and faced her, "Look — I don't know how close you and your cousins are but what I do know about the Weasleys — is that they _never_ turn their back on their family. You'll be fine — I'm sure they're proud of you anyway — I mean I've _never_ met _anyone_ who can get _such_ extensively detailed notes on the Gargoyle Strike of 1911 in just_one_lesson." Rose gave a slight smile. "And hey — you were _half_ a mark off beating me on that test — imagine how soon you'll be beating me on every test!" He paused. "Look — just because you're in Ravenclaw doesn't mean you're any less Gryffindor as any of your cousins — just means you're smarter than them."

"Come _on_." Scorpius grabbed her hand and dragged her out towards Gryffindor Tower. "You'll face your cousins and they'll be proud — and you'll see there's absolutely nothing to worry about."

Rose noted that for someone who had never known anything about her or her cousins; Scorpius seemed very sure of himself.

Merlin, let him be right.

* * *

><p>They must've been running for about ten minutes. Albus didn't even know the Forbidden Forest stretched out this far and deep. Finally, Priscilla slowed down, and eventually came to a halt. Albus gave her a pointed look, "So — what was it you wanted to show me?"<p>

Priscilla pointed ahead of her, "It's right there!"

Albus, looked back and forth from her to where she was pointing. "I don't see anything!"

Priscilla gestured for him to face where she was pointing, "Keep looking! If you look close enough you'll see it."

"Okay then … "

Albus saw nothing but tried to concentrate his weak eyes — looking for — whatever he was looking for. Behind him, Priscilla's eye glowed red. She raised her wand and pointed it at the oblivious Potter —

"_Entomor_—"

"_Stupefy!_"

Albus jerked around to find an unconscious Priscilla Angell collapsed onto the ground after being rammed into the tree behind her; her wand knocked out of her hand. He blinked, letting the scene sink in. Then — he heard the familiar shriek which he related to the Thestral he'd heard the last time he was in this Forest.

"_Incendio!_" the same voice cried again — setting Priscilla's wand on fire.

Albus turned around to face the direction the spell had come from — who was doing this? And why were they doing it?

He began walking towards the source of the spells but the Thestral's shriek was so close this time that Albus was forced to run.

* * *

><p>"<em>Godric.<em>" Scorpius and Rose waited as the portrait swung open to reveal the hole in the wall that would lead the duo to the Gryffindor common room.

Rose hesitantly followed Scorpius through the hole and into the common room. She smiled at the sight; it was a warm, cosy room clad in red and gold. Then — Rose caught sight of Dominique Weasley and Alice Longbottom II headed her way.

"Hey!" Alice grinned at Rose. "Look — there's our favourite raven! Long time no see kiddo!"

"Hey Rosie!" Dominique ruffled Rose's hair. "Congrats on making Ravenclaw!"

Rose just smiled back.

"Always knew you were smarter than this lot!" Alice joked.

"Well — see you round Rosie!" Dominique turned to Alice, "Come on then — that Charms essay isn't going to write itself!"

Alice groaned but with one last ruffle of Rose's head; the two girls exited the Gryffindor common room.

Neither girl seemed to acknowledge Scorpius' existence but apparently he had gotten used to this. He gave her a pointed look and she lightly shoved him, "Oh shut up!"

He laughed, "I haven't said anything!"

She gave a small chuckle then composed herself and asked, "So … are we going to ask Mary or not?"

Scorpius gestured towards a small group of first-year girls all messing about instead of doing their work. In the midst of the girls, Mary Burton was laughing about something one of her friends had just said.

Rose approached the group; the girls all turned to her, "Hi … um — could I speak to Mary? It'll only take a second!"

Mary and the other girls looked confused for a while before Mary stood up and the two headed over to where Scorpius was; away from the rest of the Gryffindors.

For some reason, Mary looked confused; she had no idea what it was Rose wanted.

Rose asked, "I wanted to ask you about the woman you saw."

Mary raised an eyebrow.

"You know — the one in the Forbidden Forest."

Mary shook her head, "What woman? And why would I even go to the Forest for — I mean I know I'm in Gryffindor but I wouldn't _dare_ go into the Forbidden Forest!"

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other in confusion, then back at Mary.

"But — you said — you saw a woman in the Forest!" Scorpius burst out. "Remember? You told me and Potter when we passed by you in the corridors on Friday!"

Mary tried to recall but could only say, "No — I don't remember anything from last week — and I'm sure I haven't spoken to you or Potter since September — except in class, but that's it."

"Okay … thanks anyway." Rose ended the conversation. Mary went back to her friends, as if the conversation never happened. Rose then gestured Scorpius and the two made their way out; hoping to find Al and an explanation for what they'd just heard.

* * *

><p>It was a tense silence Rose and Scorpius walked in; both pondering on what could possibly have happened.<p>

Scorpius knew what he saw and heard from Mary — but she seemed different now than on Friday. How could she have forgotten something so important so quickly?

Rose, with her lowered gaze, then suggested, "Maybe — maybe it was a dream … which she thought was real. Maybe there really isn't any woman in the Forest … "

"… Maybe … " Scorpius muttered in reply.

"_Rosie_! _Malfoy_!" The duo were snapped back to reality from the sound of Al's voice. He sounded urgent — but it was also the sight Albus was running towards them — nearly tripping on his robes — looking as if he was being chased by the Thestral.

They stared at him in waiting. He finally reached them — panting.

"Mary Burton — she was right." Albus stated. "_There's someone in the Forest_."


	8. The Forest's Swan

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>"Mary said she doesn't remember anything," Rose contradicted. "it may have just been her imagination."<p>

Albus was not about to give in, "I _know_ what I saw. And I _know_ what I heard. Some woman knocked out Priscilla Angell and then set her wand on fire. That woman's _in_ the Forest."

Rose asked, "What were you doing in the Forest with Priscilla Angell?"

"She dragged me out there."

"Why?"

Albus shrugged. Then repeated himself — for emphasis.

"I _swear_ to Merlin — there's _definitely_ a woman in the Forest."

Rose and Scorpius turned to each other, unsure.

"Come on!"

And with a pull of each hand, Albus began dragging both of them causing Rose to ask what her cousin was doing.

Albus turned his head round to explain but before he could get a word out; he had walked into something. He turned back around to find that the "something" he had run into was actually a some_one_. And not just _anyone_; it was Transfiguration Professor and Head of Ravenclaw Deputy Headmistress Beatrix Vivier looking down at him, eyebrow raised, "In a hurry Mr Potter?"

"Er, yes, Professor Vivier — I was — er, just on my way to the library!" Albus managed to say. "That Transfiguration homework isn't gonna do itself now, heh?"

Professor Vivier folded her arms, "Interesting Potter — considering the library is in the opposite direction of where you were headed." She paused, then asked, "This path leads towards the Forbidden Forest — care to inform me of what business you have there?"

"We, er — had to go see Hagrid!" Albus replied, trying not to break.

"Just as long you're not doing something you shouldn't be." Professor Vivier left.

Albus sighed in relief.

"Al, you're a disgrace, you know that, right?" Rose had her hands on her hips.

Both boys raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I mean, you've grown up with James, Fred, Lorcan, Uncle George and _that_ was the best lie you can come up with?" She said this as if she was challenging him — that she could've done a better job.

Albus smiled. He loved Rosie's secret Marauder-side — she tended to stay away from these things but when she came around, she could've stumped Sirius Black. At least, that's the judgement Dad had.

"Come on." With a smile, she led the duo towards the library, for real this time.

* * *

><p>Lysander walked past the occupied table causing the occupants; Rose, Al and Scorpius to turn back to their textbooks — pretending to study.<p>

When the older Slytherin had disappeared behind the bookshelves, Al put down his book and sighed again. Scorpius followed but Rose did not remove her gaze from her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_. Despite this, Rose was the first to speak, "I don't know Al — I mean — she's probably gone by now."

Since Vivier left them, the trio had hid out in the library, discussing their plan to go to the Forest and find this woman.

"I don't think so." Albus said. "I mean — Mary said she was petting this creature — probably the Thestral — which as Malfoy says — has a damaged wing. If that Thestral is hers, then that would mean she was stuck here."

Rose looked up in surprise, "When did you become such a detective?"

Al smiled smugly, "Jealous?"

"As if." Rose turned back to the textbook.

His smile faded and gloomily rested his head on the table.

"What are you so upset about?" Rose asked as she got up, "All your homework's over and done with; and we're going out to the Forest tonight like you wanted."

Albus shot up, unable to hide his eagerness, "_We are_?"

"Obviously." Scorpius replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, also getting up.

Al watched as Rose and Scorpius headed for the same exit but walked in opposite directions as soon as they were out of the library.

* * *

><p>At the Owlery, Scorpius watched as his owl flew off with his letter towards his father.<p>

He turned around to leave and found he was staring at Rose Weasley; who'd just entered the Owlery; an owl resting on her arm.

They both hesitated; then Scorpius continued his journey out of the Owlery.

His footsteps were loud; and echoed in Rose's ears. Just as he was about to get out of range; she turned around, "Hey!"

He stopped walking to show he was listening.

Rose turned back around; refusing to face him, "Th— Thanks. For before."

She was referring to her issue about being Ravenclaw that she'd shared with him only a few hours ago.

Scorpius didn't say anything; instead, he kept on walking.

Rose was thankful for that.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Albus was the last to arrive at the Great Hall — Rosie and Malfoy were already there.<p>

That was what? The sixth — seventh time he'd seen those two alone?

But it didn't matter — they were always either glaring at each other; ignoring each other; or attempting a conversation.

This time, it was the third option.

Albus didn't know what it was they were talking about but they stopped just as soon as they saw him.

"You're late." Rose pointed out.

"Ah, details, details!"

"This _was_ your idea, Al." Rose said. "So _you_ should be the earliest."

"Hey!" Al defended himself. "You don't know just how nosy Slytherins can be."

Scorpius cleared his throat. "When you two are quite finished — I believe there was a reason we're gathered here at this hour."

Rose composed herself. "Fine. Let's go then."

She headed towards the Forest and the boys shared a look.

Slightly confused, they followed after her.

"Oy!" Albus said. "Who said you could lead?"

"The early bird catches the worm Al." Rose said. "Should've come earlier."

He groaned and turned to Scorpius giving him a _Can you believe her? _look.

Scorpius understood and replied with a _I know, right? Girls._ look. He rolled his eyes for added effect.

Albus stifled a laugh, just enough for Scorpius to realise what he was doing (Scorpius grinned in reply) and for Rosie not to notice.

* * *

><p>Al was fully aware that they had passed the point of no return ages ago. The deepest they had entered into the Forest was a point they'd passed ages ago.<p>

But still, they carried on. How, he didn't know. And where they found the courage to, he didn't know either. But Rose was most definitely _not_ helping.

To say that Rose Weasley was terrified, would be an understatement, for there was simply _no word_ in the English language to even come close to describing just how deep a fear Rose had right now.

She had long since began holding one of her cousin's hand and one of Scorpius' — as if she was trying to continuously establish the fact that they were all still here. Neither boy minded; they were kind of terrified themselves.

But still, Rose's hand shaking like there was no tomorrow was annoying. As was her tendency to yelp at any and everything that moved.

Al didn't know where Malfoy had the patience to _still_ be comforting to Rosie. He himself had lost patience with her ages ago.

He also didn't know how Malfoy was so calm about this. It may be the spirit of Gryffindor but Al felt it was something else too… but he tried not to think about that.

Rose's grip on his hand tightened even more. If that was possible.

A twig snapped somewhere. Rose yelped.

Al didn't know what Malfoy said or did but Rose's grip on his hand tightened so much he was sure his blood circulation would get cut off any minute now.

Since they'd been at Hogwarts for over two months now, the trio's eyes had adjusted to darker places but Al still found it quite difficult to navigate. Malfoy, on the other hand, had it easier. For whatever mysterious reason.

Malfoy stopped walking and triggered a chain reaction, with Rose being pulled back so abruptly she slammed into him and her cousin into her.

Albus rubbed his head with his free hand. "Okay, never again."

Rose was looking worriedly at Malfoy. "What is it?"

"Listen." was all he said. So they did.

Eventually, Al heard them too.

"Footsteps." Rose voiced.

"_Human_ footsteps." Scorpius corrected.

"Are they running?" Albus asked. Because that's what the footsteps sounded like.

The next thing they heard was someone whistling — like people do when they're calling for their pet.

Scorpius began walking towards the sound, pulling a highly reluctant Rose and a wondering Albus with him.

Rose pulled him back, stopping Malfoy from walking.

"Where do you think you're going?" she hissed.

"Towards the footsteps — maybe we'll find the woman." Malfoy said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You can't be serious!"

"But that's what we came here for, isn't it?"

"Still!"

The two glared at each other. But before Albus could intervene, Malfoy let go of Rosie's hand.

"Fine, you can go back — I'm going to find that woman."

And he carried on walking, not looking back and leaving the two cousins on their own.

"Al!" Rose turned to him. "We can't just let him go!"

"Don't look at me — you're the one who stopped."

"What do we do?" Rose was hysterical with tears. "Oh this is the worst! What was I thinking coming here?"

Albus didn't say anything. He knew she couldn't go back — they were too far and deep into the Forest. And he knew that she _really_ didn't want to go with Malfoy — she was terrified enough as it is. Albus knew his cousin, so he knew that she'd much rather give up reading for the rest of her life than be here.

But what's done is done. They were here and there was no going back. All they could do was stay together.

Slowly and very gently, Albus pulled his cousin in the direction Malfoy had taken. Rose was crying silent tears now. But she still came.

Albus felt that was very Gryffindor of her.

* * *

><p>When they found Malfoy, he gave the tear-stained-and-still-crying Rose a confused look.<p>

"What happened to you?"

She punched him in the shoulder. "_You_, you git!"

He rubbed his shoulder — he'd just found out how strong a punch Rose packed. Albus already knew — he'd learned the same way too. (By annoying Rose, not by abandoning her in the middle of the night in the Forbidden Forest, obviously.)

Scorpius turned to Albus for help, still holding his shoulder but Albus did nothing. He knew that if he got involved, Rose would beat the living daylights out of him too. And in all honesty, Albus didn't really want to die at the hands of his cousin.

Instead, Albus broke the silence. "So — d'you find anything?"

Before he could say anything, a female voice asked. "What are you doing here?"

Albus and Rose whipped around as Scorpius stood up straighter.

Even though it was dark, Albus could make out some definitely-Asian features. Her hair was dark and long, but unclean and adorned with twigs and leaves — like she'd been living in the Forest for all her life. Her eyes were worn out an tired. Her clothes were tattered and falling apart. She had ripped the sleeves off to tie bandages on her arms and legs — for her injuries. Her feet were bare.

Scorpius broke the silence. "We could ask you the same thing."

She glared at Malfoy and growled. "I wasn't asking _you_ Malfoy."

Scorpius seemed unfazed by this. Albus wondered what it was their parents were hiding from them.

She turned to Al and Rose and then took the sight of them in. She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "Well, this is a curious discovery — a Potter, a Weasley and a Malfoy."

Albus didn't like this woman. He unconsciously took a small step back.

"We ran into your Thestral." Scorpius had locked eyes with the woman and didn't back down.

"What?" she asked, suddenly genuinely worried. "When? Where did you see it?"

"Few weeks ago. At the edge."

Rose had seemed to have finally found her courage. If courage was hiding behind Scorpius and holding Al's hand as she spoke. "Um, sorry, but we just wanted to know who you were and what you were doing in the Forest."

"Me?" the woman paused. "I don't know who I was — but right now, I'm the Swan."

That stumped the trio completely. Al blinked and re-evaluated the sight of her — there was _nothing_ swan-like about her. She spoke with a hoarse, rough voice, like she'd been abandoned and broken but had pulled through, alone. Her eyes were full of deep loathing, despair and some worry. Swans were beautiful and graceful but this woman was neither.

He wondered if there was something in her past that made her like so. Maybe she was a swan before — graceful and beautiful but broken by some horrible tragedy in her life. Then he wondered if it had anything to do with the secret his parents were hiding, or that name — _Voldemort_.

She carried on. "As for what I'm doing here — my Thestral got injured and now I'm stuck here. What about you three? First-years don't come this deep into the Forest this late at night just for fun."

"We came looking for you." Al replied.

She raised an eyebrow.

"We found a Thestral a few weeks ago and then this girl said she saw a woman in the Forest and we came to find you." Albus explained. "And here we are."

Rose eyed the wand in her hand. Then it clicked.

"You erased her memories." Rose said, hypnotised. "You erased Mary Burton's memories so she wouldn't remember you and so no-one would know you're here."

The woman eyed Rose. "Not bad. Hermione's kid?"

Rose nodded. She then asked. "Were— were you in the same year as Mum and Dad at Hogwarts?"

"I was in the year above."

Albus didn't know about Rose, Scorpius, or even the woman but he found it quite surreal that they were this deep in the Forest, in the middle of the night, having a civilised conversation with some possibly-deranged woman who lived in the Forest and had no real name.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Albus wasn't sure where the words were coming from. "You're the one who knocked out Priscilla Angell and set her wand on fire."

She raised an eyebrow — not denying the accusation.

Al had but one question. "Why?"

She said nothing for a while. "What I do is none of your concern."

"Given that she's a Slytherin and in my year — I think I have a right to know."

She stifled a laugh. Then cleared her throat. "You're getting nothing out of me. You might find out when you're a bit older, but hopefully you won't need to."

There was a gleam of wistful hope in her tired eyes. Like she'd suffered some great regret and was now paying the price. The way she said that last part — like she knew what was coming but hoped that it wouldn't involve the kids in front of her. He wondered what a past she had that had made her like she was now.

Changing the subject, Albus cleared his throat. "So — um — where is your Thestral?"

"Can't you tell?" Malfoy and the woman were still glaring at each other. "She's lost it."

Rose yelped, but was ignored.

"You're a lot smarter than your father ever was." The woman said.

Malfoy clenched his fist. "Keep my father out of this."

She seemed to enjoy Malfoy's discomfort.

From somewhere else, they heard a loud shrill shriek that was far, but not as far. Rose yelped again.

The woman took a step towards the sound but then froze. Her and Malfoy's eyes widened.

"It's coming this way!" she yelled.

"Get out of the way!" Scorpius warned.

It was the first thing those two had agreed on so obviously, they had to have a _very_ good reason behind it.

Scorpius ran right and the woman left, hiding behind trees.

Albus moved to find a tree as well and Rose was not far behind. But it seemed her vision had been blurred by her tears because she tripped and fell.

The Thestral was too close — no-one moved.

"Rosie!" Al yelled as something invisible picked up Rose by the scruff of her neck and threw her in the air. She landed on what would've been the creature's back.

She was crying hysterically. Al knew he should be thinking of his cousin first, but he was kind of glad about this — at least now he could tell where the creature was.

With Rose mounted on its back, the Thestral — still unable to fly — disappeared into the Forest.

"ROSIE!" Al called after her.

There was a shriek that Al guessed belonged to his cousin.

He turned to face Malfoy and the woman. "We have to save her." He wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"But we have to be careful about this." Malfoy said. He stared warily at the woman. "We _are_ going to be careful about this, right?"

The boys turned to her. She was contemplating the situation, "Obviously — but it won't be easy."

"You have a plan?" Malfoy asked.

She nodded. "Yes but I'll need your help." She glared warily at Malfoy. "_Both_ of you."

They agreed without hesitation.

Rosie may have been uptight and annoying but that didn't mean that Al and Malfoy were going to let some Thestral kidnap her.

Before the Thestral could return, the woman who went by the title _Swan_, shared with the boys her plan.

Albus hoped both for Rose's sake and their own, that trusting this woman would be the right choice.

Oh well.

Only one way to find out.


	9. Bonds Anew

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Albus didn't know if he should've been annoyed, relieved or worried that he got the safest job.<p>

It wasn't because there was favouritism or that Al was weak, it was more logical than that. First off, Al was the only one out of the trio who couldn't physically see the Thestral with his own eyes. Malfoy and the Swan could. Secondly, Malfoy was the Gryffindor here — he should be better suited for this role. It was quite terrifyingly dangerous for a mere eleven year old. And thirdly, the woman just didn't like Malfoy — for whatever reason (was it because of his dad?) so it was obvious she'd give him the role that was most likely to get him killed.

Al just hoped he wouldn't have to come to the funeral.

And the strange thing was, Malfoy took on the role without argument. Either he was already loyal to Rose, or the kid had a serious death wish.

He hoped it was the former.

Their brilliant plan was not at all brilliant — that much Al had to admit.

When the Thestral was close enough, Malfoy would lure it towards him by wand-light. Either the Thestral would go mental and chase him down (which would be the worse case scenario) or it'd just follow with cautiousness (which would be much easier).

If it was the former, Swan-Woman would have to be really quick — or really quiet if it was the latter. Her role was to immobilise the Thestral when it was close enough. They'd retrieve Rose and the woman would do whatever she wanted. It was _her_ Thestral after all.

Al just had to keep a lookout for the Thestral and if Rose would be screaming — try to calm her down.

Theirs wasn't the best plan, but it was the only one they had.

Now he didn't know if this was because he was the only one who couldn't see the Thestral, but for whatever reason, the swan woman wanted to keep him safe — like he was some valuable diamond she didn't want to endanger in any way whatsoever.

* * *

><p>Al guessed it must've been a good hour since they last saw the Thestral. And Swan-Woman.<p>

She had gone out to look for it — to lure it towards them somehow.

Neither boy questioned her. This was her Thestral, and she was a full-fledged witch — she prob'bly knew what she was doing.

And so, that left Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy all alone in the heart of the Forbidden Forest. Again.

Albus guessed it must've been because he finally had time to sit and think about his situation, but suddenly, he felt his eyes sting.

"This is all my fault." Al told himself, willing his voice not to break. "This was my stupid idea — Rosie only came because she was worried about me."

For the longest time, Malfoy said nothing.

"It won't do you any good to beat yourself about it." Malfoy said nonchalantly, as if this kind of thing happened to him all the time. "No use crying over spilt potion — what's done is done. All we can do is try and get her back. And hope for the best."

Albus raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You're awfully calm about this."

Malfoy's eyes glared at something but he composed himself. "I learned a long time ago that crying over spilt potion is pointless."

"Are you always this deep and philosophical?" Albus asked.

Malfoy shrugged.

* * *

><p>They heard running and took their places. Malfoy lit his wand.<p>

He headed towards the source of the running.

Swan-Woman came back but Malfoy didn't. She took her place behind one of the trees.

Albus waited.

Soon, he saw a faint light bobbing up and down as it headed towards them.

It was Malfoy's wand and he was running for his life, not bothering to look back for Rose, Al didn't blame him thought — if he was being chased by the Thestral, he would probably be the same. Rose was screaming hysterically. Al couldn't make out what she was saying but he heard Malfoy's name; his own and a lot of uncharacteristically strong cursing.

"_Immobulus_!" Swan-Woman cried out — if she had been even a fraction of a second late … Al tried not to think about that.

The Thestral froze and Malfoy, who looked back for a split second, ran face-first into a tree. It almost lightened Al's mood to see that kid do something stupid for once.

Albus and Swan-Woman stepped out from their hiding spots. Al reached for Rosie's hand who grasped it before ungracefully falling and landing on top of him.

When Albus finally recovered, he rubbed Rose's back, trying to soothe her. "Hey, it's fine, you're fine — we're okay."

She was shaking but her crying had stopped.

Malfoy, also recovering from his own crash, approached the duo. He said nothing but held out a hand.

Rose took it and he helped her up. Al got up slowly after.

"Okay, let's add that to the list of _never again_'s."

Malfoy and Rose agreed immediately.

Albus turned to thank the Swan but she was distressed. "Forget about me — just head that way," she pointed into the distance, "and you'll end up outside the Herbology greenhouses! _Go!_ Now's your chance!"

The trio ran for their lives — as if they were on fire. They didn't stop for breath — they just wanted to put as much space between them and that Thestral.

(What all three of them failed to notice was that ever since Rose had taken Scorpius' hand to get up, neither of them had let go. And even now, as they sprinted towards the greenhouses, their fingers remained intertwined.)

* * *

><p>When they finally got out of the Forest, Albus, who had magically come ahead of Rose and Malfoy, tripped and fell face-first into the ground.<p>

Thankfully, his companions didn't make the same mistake.

Rose looked up ahead and saw the wall of Greenhouse One.

Smiling, she collapsed to her knees, heavily relieved. "Thank Merlin — we made it!"

All three of them were still panting.

Al got up and rubbed his head. "Okay — _never again_."

"Agreed."

"No arguments here."

The trio sat down in a small circle to catch their breath.

"Merlin, I didn't even _know_ I could run like that." sighed Rose.

"Didn't even know you could scream like that either Weasley." Malfoy added as he tended his ear.

"… Rose." mumbled Rose.

"What?"

"My name — it's Rose. Not Weasley."

Malfoy blinked.

"But you should only call her Rosie," Al pointed out, "no-one calls her Rose unless they're really mad at her or if they're really serious."

"Uh … yeah …" Malfoy didn't look too happy at the idea. "I think I'll just stick with Rose."

Rose shrugged approvingly. "Better than Weasley."

"Don't call me Potter." Al carried on. "But I should also add — I don't answer to the name Albus."

"It's Al." said his cousin.

Scorpius blinked, not quite believing what was happening.

"Come on Malfoy," Albus leaned back on his hands, "After that — you can't still expect us to still be on a last-name basis."

"I'm well aware of that … _Al_," said Malfoy, "it's just — going to take some time to get used to."

"I know what you mean…" Rose added. "I hardly ever answer to _Rose_." She then shuddered, as if the word itself was some horridly unpleasant creature to look at.

Al sat up. "So what about you?"

"What?" Malfoy asked.

"Its Scorpius, isn't it?" Rose said. "Your name."

Malfoy didn't seem to happy about his name either.

"How do you know that?" Al asked Rose.

"I paid attention." Rose said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Al contemplated something. "Nah," he said. "Scorpius is too hard to say. Plus, it sounds weird."

"I think it's cool." Rose said simply.

"Well, I don't." said Malfoy. "Besides, what do you have against the name _Rose_? It's a beautiful name."

Rose pulled a face. "Ugh — It's just … really _ugh_."

Al laughed.

"See, Rosie here," he explained between laughs, "is allergic … to _roses_."

"It's not funny!"

That only caused Al to laugh louder.

"Well," Malfoy folded his arms. "I'm still calling you _Rose_, Rose."

She rolled her eyes.

Al's laughing fit stopped abruptly as he snapped his fingers in realisation. "I got it!" He turned to Malfoy. "How about _Scor_?"

Rose and Malfoy stared at him as if he'd just grown another head.

Then, Malfoy shrugged approvingly. "Better than Scorpius."

"Great." Rose smiled. "So it's settled then."

"I guess it has."

For change of view, Al looked up and was met with surprise.

"Whoa …" was all he could say.

Rose and Malfoy looked up too.

The stars twinkled and sparkled at their brightest, glittering in the dark night sky — it looked beautiful.

"Wow …" Rose said, breathless. "It's … wow …"

Scorpius himself didn't seem to hear anyone. He stared up at the sky, reminded of his late grandmother.

Looking up at the glittering stars that gently decorated the deep, endless sky, Scorpius' head filled with memories of his late grandmother.

Unconsciously, his hand went to his chest, where he fumbled with something under his shirt.

And in that moment, among his first two friends, Scorpius basked under the beauty of the sky and the warmth of his grandmother and his memories of her.

It was one of the best moments in Scorpius Malfoy's life.

* * *

><p>Although Al, Scorpius and Rose had found comfort in each other, after their <em>adventure<em>, (using the term loosely) it was kind of a shock for the other students of Hogwarts when a few afternoons later, Albus Potter came out of Transfiguration and yelled to the corridor, "Oy, _Scor_, wait up!"

The shocking part wasn't Al yelling, it was the reply he got. Scorpius Malfoy turned around and waited for Al to catch up and the two boys carried on walking as if this was a normal habit of theirs.

Needless to say, for those students who had noticed this change of behaviour in Al, Rose and Malfoy, had gone into shock. Others, hadn't really noticed … or cared. Much.

In themselves, Al and Scor headed down to the green fields, (away from the Forest) where Rose had already been waiting for them.

"Thank Merlin!" she greeted them as they sat down with her. "What took you guys so long?"

Al raised an eyebrow at his cousin. "What made you so early?"

"You were late, Al." Rose told him, seeing through him automatically.

"Yeah I guess." Al gave in to his cousin's perceptive ability. "Lost a point for sleeping in Transfiguration."

"Again?" Rose said. "Now I'm _glad_ we're in different Houses."

"Hey!"

"I'm with Rose." Scorpius added. "You've got a … _special talent_ for losing points."

Al rolled his eyes, pretending he didn't hear that.

Their conversation was interrupted by an unfamiliar brown owl zooming towards them — they moved out of its way and heard a thud as the owl slammed into a tree.

"Andrea!" Scorpius seemed to recognise the owl, which with another thud, landed on the ground. It stood up, ruffled its feather and flew circles above Scorpius' head.

The boy was not pleased. "Andrea — calm down. Do you have a reply or not?"

The brown owl, Andrea, stopped flying circles and Rose held out her arm. Andrea sat on Rose's arm and stuck a leg out, from which Scorpius untied the small scroll of parchment. Andrea then flew away in the direction of the Hogwarts Owlery.

Scorpius eyed his owl disappear, shook his head exasperatedly and untied the scroll.

Al and Rose sneaked a peek from behind his shoulder.

It was more of a quick memo rather than a letter.

_It's alright with me and your mother if you wish to stay at Hogwarts._

_Good luck, son — with everything._

Al, himself felt it was too brief and found it hard to believe that those two sentences were really from Mr Malfoy. But it seemed to be enough for Scorpius, who with a relieved sigh, collapsed on to the ground. "Thank Merlin!"

The two cousins sat down on either side of him.

"What does he mean you can '_stay at Hogwarts_'?" Rose asked uncomfortably, "You weren't going to … _leave_ … were you?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No, it's not that." he explained. "He means I can stay at Hogwarts … for the Christmas holidays."

Al's mouth fell open. "Wha— _Really?_"

"Yes — I asked him … but — I thought he'd say no." Scorpius said — he didn't look too happy though.

Rose was silent — contemplating something. Al didn't need to ask, or even have cousin telepathy to know what she was thinking.

She was considering asking to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays too. Because if it was one thing the trio had in common, it was their fear of facing their families.

None of them said anything. A cool breeze flew by, ruffling the leaves on trees, throwing Rose's hair in her face (again) and just generally refreshing them.

* * *

><p>"This is really random…" Scorpius broke the peaceful silence. "…but why did you ask me about Voldemort?"<p>

The look in Rose's blue eyes made Al want to burrow himself into the ground and never come out.

"You did _what_?" Rose shrieked.

Al hung his head, not wanting to face his fiery-tempered cousin.

"He asked me what I knew about Voldemort." Scorpius sat up, slowly catching on. "Is it because— Oh Merlin, don't tell me — you _really _don't know?"

Rose glared daggers at her cousin but said three words. "Not a clue."

Scorpius contemplated the idea that hit him. He could tell them the story — albeit brief — but still, he could cover what they needed to know. But … Scorpius couldn't help but wonder, what if when they found out, they wouldn't want to be near him any more? It would make sense to anyone but after venturing into the Forest at night, being chased by a Thestral, and crashing into a tree all for the sake of their friendship, they wouldn't really just abandon him like that … would they?

No of course not! Not after the Thestral — that was what? A class XXXX creature? And they were what? Eleven — twelve? (Well, Scorpius was twelve, he didn't know about the other two.)

"I — I could tell you." Scorpius said. That was it — the words were out. He clenched his fist, hoping this choice was not a mistake. Then again, Malfoy men were quite well-known for their bad choices.

Oh well. What's done is done.

"Wha—?" Al asked, completely forgetting his fear of Rose's wrath.

Rose was in shock too. "You don't think it's stupid we don't know?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why would I think that? If you knew the story — it only makes sense why your family didn't want you to know."

"Well — _what is it_?" Al asked. "What's the big secret?" He put finger quotes around "big secret".

Scorpius looked at Al — then at Rose — then at the ground and told them what he knew. He told them about the rise of the Dark Lord — about Harry Potter being the first ever person to survive the Killing Curse — about how he was a legend at Hogwarts with his best friends Ron and Hermione — about how he was the first first-year Seeker in about a century — about how he solved the mystery of the Heir of Slytherin and defeated the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets — about how he won the Triwizard Tournament alongside the hero Cedric Diggory — witnessed the return of Voldemort — and fought Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic with some of his closest friends — how Dumbledore had died and Harry had skipped seventh year with Ron and Hermione to search for the keys to defeating Voldemort — how he came back and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts — how he died and came back to life in front of all of Hogwarts — how in the final battle, he finally defeated Voldemort.

But he also added things like how Hermione Granger was the brightest witch of her age — which was common knowledge in all of Hogwarts — how Ron Weasley had gone from being the awkward best friend to a brave warrior — how Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had quite the arch-rivalry — but in the end the loyal hero had saved his father's life — how Harry had lived up to his great expectations and exceeded them. He explained why people thanked their family members (namely uncles and aunts), asked for autographs and sent gift baskets to Harry, Ron and Hermione — why everyone expected Al, Rose and Scorpius to hate each other — why Ron had always told them to stay clear of Malfoys. And during the entire time he told Rose and Al this story — Scorpius prayed they wouldn't hate him.

By the end of this tale — Al and Rose were rendered completely speechless.

"Holy … No wonder Dad never said anything." Al finally managed.

"There's probably more," Scorpius continued. "But Mr Potter kept that to himself and his friends — that's what Father told me anyway."

"That … explains so much." Rose said. "Oh Merlin — how Mum, Dad and everyone managed to keep _that_ a secret — I — How — I don't even — How in the name of — I'll never — Merlin's pants, they were busy when they were young!"

"Your Dad must've _really_ left an impression on our parents." Albus said. "Dad always told us to keep an open mind but Uncle Ron just fed us Chocolate Frogs and told us Malfoys and Slytherins were no good behind Dad's back."

"Well…" Scorpius said. "Even Father has admitted — there were quite a number of times he went … overboard with the things he used to say and do."

"No wonder Dad didn't want us being friends." Rose said.

Scorpius tried to keep his smile — this would be it — the end of their short-lived friendship.

"So _that's_ why you hated me!" Al finally caught on. "It wasn't me — you thought we knew about the feud!"

Scorpius nodded.

Albus punched him playfully. "That's so stupid!" He said. "Why would we care what happened between our parents? If we're going to be friends or enemies — it's going to be because _we_ hate each other — or because _we_ get along — not because it's what our parents did!"

"Al's right." Rose said. "Who cares if our parents saved the world? (Well, except the world) — We're not them."

Scorpius smiled, glad to have friends. "That's another thing we have in common." He said. "Our surnames are so well-known people don't stop to take a second glance before judging us — thi— no, _believing_ that we're our parents."

The three stared into space — having something else to bond over.

Finally, Rose held her hand out to Scorpius. "Let's start again — I'm Rose. Just Rose — no last name. Will you be my friend?"

Scorpius smiled and shook her hand. "Of course Rose. But please, call me Scor. Nothing else."

Albus slung an arm around Scorpius. "And I'm Al — I think I'll be your friend too."

"I think I'd like that, Al." Scorpius grinned — finally convinced he had real friends.


	10. November Decisions

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>If Scorpius Malfoy was asked to describe his life at the current moment, he would say it was pretty good. In fact, he didn't quite believe life could actually get any better.<p>

Hallowe'en had been just over a week ago. Scorpius found it quite enjoyable, although Albus had been very cautious and very wary of everything he came across — like he believed something was going to pop out of thin air and choke him to death or something. Scorpius wondered whether or not he should worry about Al's mental health. Rose had tried calming him down — but it hadn't worked.

The conversation went something like: "Al, you _know_ Fred and Lorcan wouldn't try anything without James — they're inseparable!"

"Yeah but, what if they still want to uphold his legacy or something? I'm taking no chances Rosie — none."

"Where was this attitude when you wanted to go find the Swan-Lady?"

"That was the Forbidden Forest — this is _James_, Rosie. This is my _brother_, James Sirius, the merciless Marauder. Besides, I've learned my lesson."

Rose simply rolled her blue eyes and said: "Uh huh. Sure. Keep telling yourself that."

Still, Scorpius thought, if you didn't count all the bullying, the glares, the stares of confusion, the wary stares, the haunting whispers and Al being at caution level red the whole day, it was quite an enjoyable Hallowe'en.

Then came November — the first Quidditch match of the year — and surprise, surprise — it was Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

Now, no offence to Quidditch fans, or to Harry Potter and all his greatness and everything but none of the trio wanted to break the rules and be allowed to join the team in first-year.

Rose, who apparently had been an avid fan of soaring through the endless skies before her unwanted ride on the Thestral — which she hadn't been able to see at all — had developed a deep passion for always having both feet placed firmly on the ground. So she hadn't coped as well during her Flying lessons — which Scorpius decided not to tell Al about; he didn't want to get on Rose's bad side. In the end, she'd written to her mother asking Mrs Weasley to ask Professor Callaghan to pardon her from Flying lessons — it took a lot of convincing on Mrs Weasley's part but in the end, Professor Callaghan had settled for Rose observing the lessons and participating only if she felt brave enough. She _did_ have to do a lot of theory work to make up for the lack of practice, but as a Ravenclaw, Rose took on the challenge.

Scorpius, in all his health, did not feel it necessary to become an easy target for his many much more experienced bullies to blast him out of the air or set his broom on fire. He also didn't want to throw a stupid fit about not getting what he wanted like his Father so ungracefully had — plus, after letting Scorpius stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays, Scorpius felt he'd be pushing his luck asking for a place on the Quidditch team — and although Lucius could probably grant him the position, Scorpius doubted Lucius'd grant him a position on the _Gryffindor _team. Besides, in all his love for Quidditch, Scorpius simply did not feel motivated enough to play for a House that refused to acknowledge his existence — even after two months.

Albus, however, had it the hardest — he _really_ wanted to play Quidditch (even if it was for the Slytherins) but he vowed to wait till second year like everyone else. Because Al already looked like his father so much that people like Hagrid (on numerous occasions) had mistaken him for the real Harry, he didn't want to join the team in his first-year like his father.

Ever since Al had found out _why_ it was people singled him out (Professors and students alike), and _why_ they expected so much of him, and _why_ they accidentally got the name "Albus" mixed up with "Harry" — Al had made an even stronger effort to differentiate himself from his father. It wasn't as hard — he was already in Slytherin; he was plain rubbish at Defence Against the Dark Arts (much to the annoyance of the terrifying Professor Arminger); and he wasn't as kind or as patient (or at all really; Scorpius wondered if the kid even _knew_ what patience was) — Al said he got that from his Mum.

So the trio decided to support the teams instead — which was a challenge in itself.

Scorpius had decided to support his House Gryffindor — because even though no-one acknowledged his existence (or if they did, it was always quite painful) he guessed that maybe if he supported their Quidditch team, they might hate him less. He had also preferred Gryffindor over Slytherin because he was afraid that if he chose to support Slytherin — he might be mistaken for his father. Plus, it wasn't like Scorpius had any particular _like_ towards the Slytherins either — he much rather preferred the Gryffindors because when they were nice, they were good people (well, most of them anyway).

As for Al, he had decided to support Slytherin — which came both as a surprise, and not. Rose said (and Scorpius agreed in this) that Albus should probably support Gryffindor because all of his relatives that played for the team — and it might make his relatives a bit less wary of him. But he had chosen Slytherin saying that if he was going to win his cousins over, it would be because of who he was — not who he supported and that Slytherin wasn't really all that bad once you got used to it. He'd also said that now that he was a Slytherin, he had a duty to Lysander as Lysander had to him — and Lysander was on the Slytherin Quidditch team. But deep down, Scorpius felt Al had chosen Slytherin for the same reason Scorpius'd chosen Gryffindor — so they'd be less likely to be mistaken for their fathers.

This meant that the tiebreaker was Rose, much to her chagrin — she had to choose between Gryffindor and Slytherin — between Scorpius and Albus — between her new-found friend and her lifelong cousin — and neither of the boys had made it easy for her (but then again, she thought, they _were_ boys after all). In the end though, Rose had taken Gryffindor's side and Al hadn't been very happy about that — Scorpius didn't know what to make of it until Rose said she only chose Gryffindor because so much of it was her family. And even though she'd been placed into Ravenclaw, they hadn't been hard on her — so she owed them that much, at least.

But as it turned out, even though most friends fell out over Quidditch teams, this trio was particularly lucky in terms of that. Al had gotten his justice when Slytherin won the match — and he didn't let Rose nor Scorpius forget this, much to their chagrin.

Rose, in defence, had said that the only reason Gryffindor lost was because James, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain, was unavailable — Robert Gale, a fourth year, had to play in James' place and although he was okay — he just wasn't James Potter. And it wasn't just Rose — all of Gryffindor felt the same and knew that James was the heart and soul of their winning streak. Dominique Weasley and Alice Longbottom had told them how ever since James had joined the team, they had never once lost a match (unless James was having a bad day or Professor Callaghan had been bribed or something).

Scorpius found it strange that even when he was the Gryffindor and Rose was the Ravenclaw, she still knew more about Gryffindors than he. He guessed that it must be because she lived with her parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents (who had all been in Gryffindor) and her cousins (who were all still in Gryffindor; well those who attended Hogwarts) that she knew more, but still, it was a bit unnerving that a girl could know so much when she was only so young.

* * *

><p>Rose strolled through the corridors at Hogwarts, contemplating whether or not to ask her mother (because her father her wouldn't even consider it) if she could stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, like Scorpius had. She didn't care what anyone else thought, Rose herself felt Mr Malfoy was very kind in letting Scorpius stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays.<p>

She knew that unlike Scorpius, Hermione would never let Rose stay at Hogwarts — and even if she did, her other aunts and uncles and even grandparents wouldn't let her. The Weasleys were known for always managing to find time for Christmas — even when Teddy and Victoire had started Hogwarts, they always came home for Christmas. So Rose felt she'd be pushing her luck, or lack thereof, if she decided to break another ancient tradition.

Besides, her parents finding out about her House placement was inevitable — that much was certain — she couldn't keep this from them forever. By staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, Rose was only delaying the matter.

As Rose was walking, lost in thought, she crashed into someone — before she hit the ground, the other person helped her up. Rose looked up at the familiar touch to find she'd crashed into one of her cousins.

"Domi! Ally!"

"Rosie!" Dominique Weasley said. "You okay?"

"Yeah … I— I'm fine."

"We haven't seen you in _ages_, kiddo." Ally Longbottom stepped forward. "How you been?"

"Good … uh … yeah — good …" Rose managed.

Dominique and Alice shared a look before each of them took one of Rose's arms and dragged her into an empty classroom nearby — before she could protest.

Alice shut the door as Dominique asked. "Now — what's up?"

Rose lowered her gaze. Then she spoke. "D— D'you think Mum — will let me stay at Hogwarts … for the— um … Christmas holidays?"

"What?" Alice asked. "Why'd'you want to miss out on Christmas for?"

"Oh Rosie…" Dominique caught on. "You're not still worried about Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron finding out about Ravenclaw?"

Rose didn't say anything.

"Rosie — it'll be fine!" Alice said. "Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron won't be mad — I mean it was pretty obvious you were going to be in Ravenclaw anyway!"

"Yeah!" Dominique added. "I'd be much more surprised if you _weren't_ in Ravenclaw."

"…really?"

"Yes! Of course!" they chanted. Alice and Dominique looked nothing alike — they weren't even related but they did act like twins — they'd been best friends since they first came to Hogwarts last year.

Rose was grateful for them — they were like the older sisters Rose never had. (But so was Victoire, but she was for more girly situations; not that Rose had ever had any).

Dominique sat by Rose and put an arm around her. Alice stepped forward and smiled at Rose. "Tell you what — you come home for Christmas and if anyone's got a bone to pick with you for not being in Gryffindor; me and Domi here will be your personal bodyguards — how's that sound?"

Rose smiled. "Anyone?"

"Anyone!" Alice said. "Even the garden gnomes!"

"Ally!" Dominique said. "You _know_ we're not allowed to fight the garden gnomes anymore!"

Alice brushed her off, "Details, details!" They turned to Rose. "So how 'bout it?"

Rose laughed. "Alright fine — you win."

Dominique and Alice cheered.

* * *

><p>At breakfast next morning, Rose told Albus and Scorpius her decision.<p>

"That's great!" Scorpius said. "You'll make your family proud — just you wait and see."

Rose asked Albus if he was coming too — he hadn't been too fond of the idea.

"What?" Al said. "And leave poor Scor all alone?"

Scorpius felt kind of valued that Al cared about him but he knew that Al was only using him as an excuse to delay facing his family.

"But Al — this is _Christmas_!" Rose exclaimed. "_No-one_ misses Christmas and you know it — Uncle Charlie's coming this year!"

"Sounds like you really value Christmas." Scorpius commented.

"Yeah." Rose explained. "We've got quite a big family so not everyone can make it for birthdays and Easter and stuff but Christmas is the one time all year everyone makes an effort to come. Uncle Charlie still works in Romania so he can't really come — with him coming over this year means that if Al comes, then it really will be the whole family together."

Al took a sip of his still remaining pumpkin juice. "So what convinced you?"

"Those two." Rose pointed on the other end of the Gryffindor Table where Dominique was doubled over in laughter and Alice had made some masterpiece on her plate.

"Al, you should go home." Scorpius said. "It's not good to miss out on your family."

"Yeah, but…" Al took another sip. "…what about you? Will you be okay on your own?"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "It's fine Al."

Al narrowed his eyes too. And it was only then that Rose realised the duo were having a silent conversation. "What are you two talking about?"

Scorpius stiffened as Al stared down at him.

"We talked about this yesterday." Scorpius said. "And Al made a proposition."

Rose poured herself some water as Albus explained. "I think it'd be best if Scor came over to the Burrow this Christmas."

Rose didn't mean to, but ended up choking on her first sip. Scorpius gave Al a _See what I mean? _gesture whilst she recovered.

After a hearty coughing fit, Rose recovered and composed herself. "I know Scor's our friend but … are you sure that's the best decision?"

Not that Rose wasn't open to the idea — it was just, she didn't think that her family would be too happy about their unusual friendship. And they already had enough reason to make them explode, with their lack of contribution to Gryffindor.

"Rose." Okay, Al was officially serious. "He still gets bullied."

"So?"

"That's what I thought!" Al said. "But it's worse than he lets on."

"I'm right here, you know!" Scorpius said.

"Come on." Al said and the trio left the Great Hall. The pumpkin juice lay forgotten.

* * *

><p>Rose followed the two boys into the empty classroom. It then struck Rose that perhaps they had <em>too<em> many empty classrooms.

Al closed the door and turned around, giving Scorpius a look that Rose couldn't comprehend.

Scorpius sighed and reluctantly rolled up his sleeves. Rose was confused at first but then she gasped, covering her mouth.

When Al had taken Scorpius' bullying seriously, he was right to do so as she Rose herself couldn't bear to look at the scars and bruises that adorned Scorpius' pale arms. She could only imagine what kind of horrid, awful spells had been cast on him — she wondered if there was Dark Magic involved in some of those.

Apparently Rose's face had shown how uncomfortable she was, because Scorpius pulled his sleeves back down and Al broke the silence.

"You can't seriously let him stay at Hogwarts by himself after seeing that, can you?" Al said, and he couldn't've been more right.

"Most of them'll be at home too." Scorpius said. "So it won't be as bad as you think."

"Why are you defending yourself?" Rose asked. "How can you even think this as acceptable? Have you told any of the Professors? Or even Madam Pomfrey? Madam Robson?"

"Rose, Rose!" Scorpius waited for her rant to end. "Look — it looks bad but I'm telling you — it's fine. You two go home and have fun — I'll be fine."

Al scoffed. Rose had to agree with her cousin.

"Why though?"

Scorpius sighed. He _really_ didn't want to say it out loud, but then again, it may be the only way to convince them otherwise. "Alright — fine."

"You'll come to the Burrow?" Al asked eagerly.

"No." Scorpius said firmly. "I'll tell you why I'm staying."

Al folded his arms, as if to say, _This should be good._ Rose also straightened composure.

"You know how Grandfather and Father were supporters of Voldemort?" The two nodded and Scorpius carried on.

"Well, since the War your families have been praised and thanked, whereas mine, has been the opposite. People aren't very friendly to the name Malfoy. It troubles my Father very much — and I know what he's like — I know he doesn't deserve it all but he still takes it all and I hate it because there's never anything I can do about it. But here at Hogwarts, people bully me and that's great because it means I can do something for Father. If people need only to bully me to get their anger out on the Malfoy name then that's great — let them walk all over me, kill me and bring me back to life because I'll take some of the burden for Father, and pray he won't know."

It took a while for that to sink in.

"Oh Merlin…" Rose was rendered speechless, yet again.

Al finally recovered. "That's … really Gryffindor of you."

"Thanks." Scorpius said. "So? Now will you let me stay?"

"Nope. No way."

"Are you crazy?"

Scorpius blinked. Then sighed.

"Look." Scorpius clenched his fist to refrain himself from fumbling with her token. He'd never told anyone this before. "When Grandmother died — I made her a promise."

The two perked up.

"I told her I'd be the one to clear the Malfoy name. I'd help Father." Scorpius said. "And right now, the best thing I can do is take some pain, not fight back and show people that we're not the same fight-picking jerks we used to be. You may call me Scor, but whether I like it or not I'm a Malfoy too. And as a Malfoy, I have a responsibility to my name … and my family."

Al said nothing. Rose shifted her feet.

"So you're staying?" Rose asked.

Scorpius nodded.

"And nothing will change your mind?"

Scorpius shook his head.

She sighed then nodded. "Alright, if that's your decision, I respect it."

Scorpius did not see _that_ coming. "Wha— _Seriously?_"

Rose nodded. "We won't try to change your mind any more." She said. "_But_ in return, you won't change our minds either."

"O— Okay." Scorpius didn't quite understand what she was planning, but it was obvious she was up to something.

"Good." Rose said, and then swiftly left the classroom.

Al seemed to understand what was going on, because he just smiled in some sort of satisfaction.

Scorpius, only now just realising what he'd agreed to, didn't know if he should smile, frown, or be confused.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mum,<em>

_After much contemplation, Me and Al decided to stay at Hogwarts for this Christmas._

_I'm really sorry but there's so much about Hogwarts that I want to know!_

_And Al kind of needs to catch up with his work too._

_We're really sorry, but we won't be coming home till Easter, or the summer, depending on how the year goes._

_Tell Uncle Charlie we're really sorry and wish everyone a Merry Christmas from us!_

_Much love, Rosie_

_PS. Please send a spare mince pie — Al likes them too much._

_Also, Al has a message for James:_

_"James, you better be brushing up on your Quidditch practice because Gryffindor _lost_ the November match — oh, and the Fat Lady in the portrait fancies you."_


	11. Typical Day at Hogwarts

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Hermione Weasley read the letter again. This was probably the umpteenth time she'd done so but she'd lost count ages ago.<p>

Rosie wasn't coming back home for Christmas? And neither was Al?

Hermione, being highly perceptive, and having maternal instincts, wondered what it was Rose wasn't telling her.

Rose had said they weren't coming — it was a statement of fact; not a request for permission. That wasn't at all like her sweet, respecting Rosie — Rose knew how important Christmas was to the Weasley-Potters. She knew that Charlie was coming all the way from Romania this year. And she wouldn't even think about skipping out on an important event like this — she would have to beg for permission before she could even consider such an option. But here it was — her handwriting saying that Rose was skipping out on this most important family gathering of the year.

Should she be worried?

_No_, Hermione told herself, if Rosie had chosen to stay at Hogwarts — then she must've had a really good reason for it. This was her daughter after all, and if Hermione knew her only daughter, she knew that her daughter was a reasonable girl — even for her age.

"Mum?" Hugo asked, appearing. "What's that?" He gestured towards the parchment.

"A letter from Rosie."

"What's it say?" Hugo asked as he tried to read the letter.

"Just that … Rosie and Al won't be coming round for Christmas this year."

"How come?" Hugo asked, slightly disappointed. "Is Hogwarts really that much better than us?"

Hermione laughed. "No, dear — Hogwarts is just as great as us." Hermione carried on, knowing she could trust Hugo. Her son may not enjoy reading as much as herself and Rosie but he was a challenge for Ron at Wizard's Chess; he had a sort of photographic memory; and he was quite perceptive when he wanted to be — Hugo wasn't Hermione Weasley's son for nothing.

"But I'm not sure dear — I think there's something Rosie's not telling us."

Hugo read the letter. Then said, "Mum…"

"Hm?"

Hugo wondered whether or not to tell his mother what she'd missed. "… Um … Are you going to be sending that spare mince pie for Al?"

"Yes — why?" Hermione asked.

"No reason." Hugo said, heading towards the fireplace and grabbing a handful of Floo Powder and throwing it into the fireplace. "Just — you might want to send some fudge with it too."

And before Hermione could say anything, Hugo had disappeared into the emerald flames.

* * *

><p>"…oh." Lily said in a small voice, staring at her feet.<p>

So her stupid brother (and cousin) wasn't coming back for Christmas. But moving on from this, she asked Hugo to carry on. She knew Hugo and she knew that Hugo wouldn't tell her this in private unless he had something else to share — because they both knew that she'd find out with the rest of the family anyway. (It's not like the Weasleys were ever good at keeping secrets within the family.)

"Mum didn't notice this but…" Hugo said. "…Al hates mince pies, right?"

"More than anything in the world." Lily said — it was the most obvious thing in the world — common knowledge within the Weasley-Potter family. Even little Lucy Weasley knew of Al's dislike of mince pies. After an experience with a not-so-great store bought mince pie and then trying out one of Mrs Dursley's mince pies — Albus Potter had never trusted another mince pie ever again.

Lily raised an eyebrow — why was this important again?

Hugo told her about his sister's request.

"What do they need another mince pie for?" Lily asked.

Hugo shook his head. "I think you mean — _who_ do they need another mince pie for?"

"Oh." Lily said, then realised what Rose had done. "…_oh_."

"Yeah." Hugo nodded. "…_oh._"

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?" Scorpius asked for the umpteenth time.<p>

"For the billionth time," Al said, already having worn out the answer, " _yes_ Scor, we are."

"But—"

"For Merlin's sake, Scor!" Rose said. "You agreed not to try and change our minds — so _please_ stop wearing out mine!"

Scorpius said nothing for a while.

But really, he couldn't express how grateful he was for their company. Yet at the same time, he was guilty that they'd decided to stay with him instead of their family. He knew that because of having so many cousins, they'd be worn out by family, but Scorpius couldn't help but feel they didn't quite understand the value of family.

Because, when the world hates you — who do you have but your family?

Rose broke the silence. "Doesn't it bother you?"

The boys turned to her.

"That Swan Lady?"

"I thought you wanted to forget about all that?" Al asked.

"Trust me, I do." Rose said. "But it's a bit unnerving — you have to admit — having some woman living in the Forest right outside where we're going to be living for the next year."

"Well, when you put it like that…" Scorpius began.

"It sounds a bit creepy." Al said.

"I know." Rose shuddered. "That's what I get for letting Uncle Bill choose the film."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow but let it go when Al gave him a _you _really_ don't want to know_ look.

"So why the sudden interest in her?" Scorpius asked.

Rose shrugged. "I don't know but … there's something off about her — and I don't like not knowing what it is."

Al scoffed. "There's a surprise."

"Al! I'm serious!"

"Alright," Al said. "so what d'you want us to do about it?"

Rose fiddled with the book in her hands.

"You're not …" Scorpius caught on. "You're not suggesting we go into the Forest again?"

Rose bit her lip.

"And _I'm_ the suicidal git." Al said.

"Al!" Rose had found her voice. "I don't think any of the Professors know about her — which just makes it that much more suspicious."

"So you want us to go in the Forest." Al concluded. "Again."

"Can we go when there's daylight this time?" Scorpius asked. "The holidays are coming up — so we'll have an opportunity."

The two cousins agreed — they did _not_ need a repeat of last time.

* * *

><p>And as quick as Pigwidgeon on a good day, November came to a close — and with it came the second Quidditch match of the year — Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw.<p>

Who to support had been a no-brainer really — Rose had glared daggers at both Albus and Scorpius and threatened them that if they didn't support Ravenclaw, then they'd better pray they'd live to see the after-party. Al had agreed with her almost immediately saying that he liked having all his limbs attached and preferred it that way. Upon hearing this, Scorpius made the judgement that he should probably agree with her too.

Rose, although having lost her passion for playing the game or all flying in general, was still quite an avid passionate fan of watching Quidditch. Scorpius almost wondered what she'd be like if she _hadn't_ taken that unwanted Thestral ride. But then, seeing her so hyped up about the match before it had even begun, Scorpius sent a silent thanks to the Thestral.

On the day of the match, Rose had sought out an unsuspecting Scorpius and dragged him out to the pitch along with the other Ravenclaws. When Scorpius asked her where Al was, she had just glared at him dangerously and Scorpius decided to drop it — guessing that because Al knew his cousin better, he knew to hide from her and was currently doing exactly that. Scorpius vowed that the next time he saw Al, he'd have hell to pay.

"Rosie!" a brown-eyed Ravenclaw with frizzy brown hair called from the top row, waving to Rose. "Over here!"

Rose and Scorpius approached her.

"Izzy!" Rose hugged the girl before taking a seat beside her. "Where's everyone else?"

"Necia's still asleep." The girl, Izzy said. "Rae's down in the front and I don't know about Estelle. She didn't know who to cheer for — her brother and cousin are on the Hufflepuff team, see." She glanced warily over at Scorpius (who'd taken a seat on the other side of Rose) before turning back to Rose.

"Oh!" Rose said. "Izzy — this is Scorpius. Scor — this is Izzy Grover; one of my dorm-mates."

Izzy raised an eyebrow as if to say _Why are you friends with a Malfoy?_ but Rose simply rolled her eyes and gave her a pointed look.

Ignoring this, Scorpius greeted her politely. She smiled at him and then asked, "Rosie made you come?"

Rose playfully shoved Izzy and they were interrupted by a roar of cheers from the Hufflepuffs.

"COME ON GALE!" The trio turned to a Ravenclaw girl with thick dark hair at the bottom row yelling at the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team, who'd just come onto the pitch. "SHOW ME WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!"

"…found Estelle." said Rose. Izzy laughed.

A whistle sounded and fifteen brooms rose into the air, signalling the beginning of the match.

"And Ravenclaw Chaser Zoe Marler immediately takes the Quaffle —" Monday Baker, a third year Gryffindor was commentating on this match, under the supervision of Professor Laverick. "But not for long — Hufflepuff Captain Gale Taverner takes the Quaffle and passes to Chaser Jordan Preece — can he fly or what? The Ravenclaw Chasers are finding it hard to catch up and — OH! That _must've_ hurt! A clean hit from Ravenclaw Beater Katelynne Andrews knocks Preece right out of the air — Ravenclaw is in possession of the Quaffle again — those guys are really soaring now — Chaser Wendell Ross takes the shot and — RAVENCLAW SCORE!"

An uproar of cheers from the Ravenclaws as the Hufflepuffs groaned in disappointment.

"COME ON GALE!" Estelle Taverner was yelling over the Ravenclaw cheers, "IT'S JUST A BLUDGER! MAN UP A BIT!"

"Who is she cheering for?" Scorpius asked, referring to Estelle.

"No-one!" Izzy laughed.

"She's just using this as a chance to tell her brother off." added Rose.

The two girls laughed and Scorpius sighed — where the hell was Al?

"And looks like Hufflepuff is fighting back — Taverner in possession of the Quaffle — passes to Preece — Hufflepuff Beaters Melissa Burrow and Kavin Preece are using the Bludgers to keep those Chasers away — and it's working brilliantly — the Hufflepuff Chasers are untouchable — they're nearly there — it's all up to Ravenclaw Keeper Dean Conroy — and OH! Conroy misses as HUFFLEPUFF SCORE!"

The roles reversed, as Hufflepuffs cheered and Ravenclaws groaned.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Estelle wasn't satisfied. "HAWKING YOU BETTER GET THAT SNITCH!"

Scorpius didn't want to know what that girl was thinking — one minute she was supporting her Hufflepuff brother, and the next she was shouting encouragements at the Ravenclaws.

"Oh — it seems the Hufflepuff Seeker Henry Macmillan has seen the Snitch — and Ravenclaw Seeker Ryan Hawking has caught on — about time, really — and Ravenclaw is in possession of the Quaffle again — and once again a well-aimed Bludger knocks the Quaffle right into the hands of Hufflepuff Chaser Izobella Ashley — and she wastes no time — racing towards the goalposts — and OH! Tough luck — Keeper Mia Cain barely manages to block that shot — Hufflepuff in possession — Ashley passes to Taverner — or not — Marler is back in possession of the Quaffle — barely dodges that Bludger — passes to Ross and he takes the shot again — RAVENCLAW SCORE!"

An uproar from both sides of the audience.

"Ravenclaw's in the lead and in possession — it's up to their Seeker now — racing towards the Snitch, the Seekers're neck and neck — and OH! A Bludger knocks out the Ravenclaw Seeker out of the air and Macmillan dives for the Snitch — and Burrow's just in time to save Macmillan from that Bludger — but at a price to pay — both Seekers have lost sight of the Snitch!"

There were groans.

"WHAT THE HELL, GALE?!" Estelle yelled. "PLAY LIKE A MAN!"

"Marler takes advantage of that close call — in possession of the Quaffle — passes to Chaser Troy Blyton — passes to Ross — takes the shot — and — another ten points for Ravenclaw! Those guys are on _fire_ today!"

Ravenclaw cheered as Hufflepuffs yelled out encouragements to their team.

"COME ON HAWKING!" Estelle bellowed. "GET THAT DAMN SNITCH!"

"Hawking seems to have found the Snitch — and wastes no time to go after it — dodges that Bludger — Ross barely makes the shot — Ravenclaw score — and Ross gets knocked off his broomstick by that Bludger — Hufflepuff in possession — Marler gets Ross' broomstick — Blyton snatches the Quaffle from mid-pass — Marler dives — throws him the broom — Ross catches and is back in action — Blyton passes to Marler — Marler to Ross — and Ravenclaw score again!"

"GALE, GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!" Estelle yelled. "I'VE GOT TEN GALLEONS ON YOU — AND IF YOU LOSE, I'M TAKIN' YOUR MONEY! NOW, CONCENTRATE! _HAWKING_, WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG?"

Scorpius, Izzy and Rose shook their heads exasperatedly at the girl.

"Ravenclaw in possession again — but wait — Ravenclaw Captain Roquel Cain saves Hawking from the Bludger — Hawking dodges the next Bludger — Macmillan reaches — and — YES! HE'S GOT THE SNITCH, FOLKS! HUFFLEPUFF WIN ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TO FIFTY!"

Hufflepuff broke out in cheers — Gale Taverner — the captain — led his team in their victory laps. Ravenclaw groaned and yelled — what the actual words were, Scorpius couldn't make out — but they didn't sound very nice, that much was true.

Estelle, it seemed had been satisfied. Gale stopped by her in the stands, said something and she jumped onto his broomstick — the victory laps resumed.

"I was sure Ravenclaw was going to win!" Izzy said.

"I know — they were doing so great!" Rose said.

* * *

><p>"Good match, wasn't it?" Al asked appearing behind Rose and Scorpius about an hour after the match.<p>

"Al!" Rose's eyes seemed to crackle with electricity. "Where _were_ you?!"

"Watching from the Hufflepuff stands." Al grinned. Scorpius contemplated what flowers to bring to Al's funeral.

Rose was dangerously silent. Then, to Scorpius' surprise, she grinned. "Next match is Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

Scorpius groaned inside. It was _his_ turn to be the tiebreaker. But thankfully, that wasn't until January — for now, Scorpius could enjoy the snowy December all he wanted.

* * *

><p>That night, Al was woken up by the sound of loud chatter.<p>

He woke up in his dormitory — to find it empty — and curiously, picked up his glasses and followed the sounds of chatter into the Common Room where was gathered what looked like a good third of Slytherin House — all first years were present and a varied amount of older students.

They were all waiting for something. Approaching his no-longer-missing dorm-mates, Al asked them what was happening.

"Didn't you hear Potter?" Julian Wells told him. "Joyce Hanwell's missing!"

"W— _What?_" Al asked. "Where — How — _Why?_"

"Nobody knows!" Aleron Crewe added. "Ask Emily Andrews or something — she's Hanwell's dorm-mate."

Al found Emily Andrews telling a group of older students what had happened.

"I saw her go to sleep — she was holding some letter and muttering something to herself — I thought it was nothing — but when I woke up to get a drink of water — she was gone! I thought maybe she'd nipped to the loo or something but she wasn't there and after a good hour or something — she still hadn't come back!"

"That's the second Slytherin to go missing this year." said Britney Cassells — a fifth year. "The last one's still not appeared."

"Hang on," Al said. "you mean Priscilla Angell's still not turned up?"

Rose Conroy — a fourth year and reserve Keeper for the Slytherin Quidditch Team — shook her head. "Nope — she's been gone for what? Since late October — so, that's a month, I think."

Al narrowed his eyes. He remembered witnessing the Swan Woman stun Priscilla Angell that day in the Forest and he'd just abandoned her there — he thought she'd recover but she still hadn't appeared? Al then wondered if Joyce too had ventured into the Forest and gotten herself stunned. What actually had the Swan Woman done with Priscilla Angell? Where had she disappeared to? And wherever Priscilla Angell was, was Joyce there with her?

Al clenched his fist — he had to ask that Swan Woman. He silently agreed with Rose and Scor — he too was liking this suspicious woman less and less.

"This isn't good." said Trevor Bate (a seventh-year Prefect) as he entered the Common Room with a team of Slytherins — who apparently had gone out in search of the second missing Slytherin. "We've searched the whole castle — wherever Joyce Hanwell is — she isn't in the castle."

"All her stuff's still in her dorm though." Adora Castell added, another dorm-mate of Joyce and Priscilla. "Just like she left it."

"What about the Forest?" suggested Jessica Edgecombe, a third year. "What if she's in the Forest?"

"Don't be ridiculous Miss Edgecombe." Al only noticed Head of Slytherin Professor Mauro Queavillon stood in the Common Room too. "Miss Hanwell knows better than to venture into the Forbidden Forest."

"Yeah, but, this is _Joyce Hanwell_ we're talking about." Amity Castell said. "She's got the ferocity of a Hungarian Horntail — and it's not like she has any friends to tell her what to do — maybe she went into the Forest thinking she could take it on or something."

Al nearly growled. His personal stalker made Joyce sound like some kind of reckless, loser Gryffindor moron — which she wasn't. Joyce wasn't stupid — she wouldn't just go into the Forest without a _really_good reason — she wasn't that kind of person. Joyce may have been an acquaintance to him but she wasn't unreasonable and Al couldn't think of any reason why she'd go into the Forest.

But then again, Al thought, what _did_ he know about Joyce?

Professor Queavillon was contemplating something. The students waited for him to speak. "Alright, we'll look for Miss Hanwell in the Forest — but not now. All of you head back to sleep but keep the sudden disappearance of Miss Hanwell and Miss Angell a secret between the Slytherins — we don't want any rumours to spread."

Slowly, students filed back into their dorms. Professor Queavillon had asked Joyce's dorm-mates to stay behind.

Before Al could stay behind to find out anything else, Lysander placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on Al, go to sleep — they'll find her, wherever she is."

And so, having no choice but to agree with his mentor, Albus Potter trudged back into bed — with another question for the Swan Woman.


	12. Christmas Portraits

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>When Professors Queavillon, Longbottom, Vivier and Laverick had all come round, Al, Scor and Rose had signed up to stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays almost immediately — their names being at the top of all three lists — and although they had agreed to do so for the same reasons, they each had their own motivation.<p>

Scorpius in himself believed that as a Malfoy, he had a duty to his family — which he could only fulfil by staying at Hogwarts. And after everything the Malfoys had been through, Scorpius signed up to do something for them. He would stay at Hogwarts and be bullied for his name — it didn't matter what they did — he would take the pain, because he promised his grandmother he would do so.

Rose signed up just as fast before the guilt from not visiting her family could change her mind — even though she'd only known him for about two months, even Rose wouldn't turn her back on a friend; though a Ravenclaw, Rose was still as fiercely loyal as any other Weasley. It was true — they'd seen improvement — ever since Al and Rose started hanging out with Scor, people had been less likely to come up and intimidate them.

When it was just Al and Scor, they'd been scared because they didn't want to leave a bad impression on the Potter boy (and because they believed that Al had inherited Harry's magical talent — which he hadn't, but they decided not to tell them this). When it was Rose and Scor, people had tried to intimidate them but Rose just glared at them as if to say _I dare you_ and then played with her wand in her hands, reminding them that this was the daughter of _two_ of Hogwarts' saviours — _two_ thirds of the Golden Trio — she had inherited twice as much the magical ability and legacy. And when it was all three of them (which was most common), people had only glanced at them before scurrying away.

Both Rose and Al knew that they couldn't leave Scorpius at Hogwarts by himself — but they couldn't have brought him to the Burrow either — although Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione had said to keep an open mind, a good majority of their family were still quite wary. And _Merlin_ knows what Uncle Ron would do if he saw Scorpius. (Al and Rose didn't want Scor to die at the hands of bullies, but dying at the hands of Uncle Ron wasn't that great an idea either.)

Al, too signed up to stay at Hogwarts for the sake of his bone-headed friend but there were other reasons too. For one, James was at home and, still feeling like James refused to accept him as family just because he was in Slytherin gave Al all the more reason to avoid his brother — especially at such a happy time of the year. Another, he didn't want to ruin Christmas for his family by disappointing them so badly — his kind father especially; he didn't deserve that. Al also didn't want to meet his family because he kind of resented them for hiding such a big secret from them — how could they justify not telling their kids the story of their lives? Didn't they understand that their kids too would be affected by what they did? And Al, who looked the most like his parent, had the fortune to be judged most often. He also had begun to like Hogwarts — since he, Rose and Scor had cleared up everything, they'd grown close and Albus didn't want to leave that behind so soon — even if it was for only a week.

But the most important reason that Al wanted to stay at Hogwarts was because he needed to go to the Forest and ask that damn Swan Woman who the hell she was, what the hell she was doing here, and why the hell did she knock out Priscilla Angell for? What kind of justification did she have against knocking out a first-year girl? And if this reason was because she didn't like Slytherins, then Al was prepared to punch her — no matter how tough she looked with her hardened, rough demeanour and crazed look in her eye.

Al passed by the list everyday to take a look at which Slytherins were staying behind with him, most were going home. Lysander had chosen to go home — Al didn't blame him — he heard that Luna and Rolf too had managed to make it home for Christmas this time. His dorm-mates were all going home too — so he had the dorm to himself for the week. Joyce too, was going home — and was quite impatient to do so.

Joyce had re-appeared two days after her disappearance, with Professor Callaghan and Queavillon and a rather nasty look on her face. She hadn't spoken to anyone, but she had been especially moody for the first few weeks. Al thought it best not to ask her what was up — but he made a note to ask her when she _didn't_ look like she wanted to kill him. Amity Castell couldn't've been more spot on when she had Joyce had the ferocity of a Hungarian Horntail — this was so much more profound when she was angry — Joyce _looked_ like she could take on a Hungarian Horntail with just her fists.

* * *

><p>So, luckily, or unluckily, the night before the Hogwarts Express left for Platform 9 ¾, Al found Joyce pacing the Common Room.<p>

"Hey …" Al said. "… you should go to sleep if you want to wake up on time for tomorrow."

"What are you doing here?" Joyce asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing much …" Al said, turning his gaze away.

"Look Potter," Joyce said. "if you want to say something — say it. Otherwise go back to bed and leave me be."

Al decided that he probably wasn't going to get this chance again. "Why are you so eager to leave Hogwarts? And where did you go when you disappeared?"

"Nosy git." Joyce muttered. "Who said I wanted to be in this damn castle anyway?"

"But …" Al said. "… this is _Hogwarts_. Everybody loves Hogwarts!"

Joyce scoffed. "Look kid, I'm Muggle-born — I wanted to lead a normal, boring life like anyone else — but this excuse for a teacher comes along and tells me I've been enrolled into this stupid magic school and drags me out here and _voila_, here I am. I never wanted to be here! I just want to go home — and _stay_ home."

"… you — You tried to escape from Hogwarts!" Al finally caught on. "You didn't go into the Forest — you tried to go home!"

"Someone give the boy a prize!" Joyce said sarcastically.

"But — aren't you fascinated by all this?" Al asked. "I mean — magic is real!"

"Well, that's great for magic and all — but I really couldn't care less."

"But … I don't understand — why?"

She glared Unforgivables at him. "I'm _seriously_ considering punching you."

"… You're scary when you're angry." Al commented.

"Deal with it." she spat harshly.

Only then did Albus realise that Joyce was only acting like this because she wasn't angry or annoyed — she was upset; stressed. Something was up.

"Hey …" Al tried a different question. "What's bothering you?"

"What?" Joyce laughed at herself, as if she was pitying herself for sinking to such a level. "You want me to sit here — tell you my life story so we can have a deep philosophical chat about how Hogwarts is the greatest thing to bless this Earth and I should consider myself lucky just knowing it exists? Thanks, but no thanks Potter — I'll pass."

Joyce looked like she was about to cry. Realising this herself, she abruptly turned around.

"You need to leave." Joyce said, her voice close to breaking.

"But—"

"_Go!_" Joyce yelled with a firm harshness in her voice. "Now!"

And so Albus did exactly that. And as he went back to bed, he thought that maybe there was a darker side to Joyce — a side she never showed anyone. But something had happened, triggering the destruction of her façade. And leaving her by herself, it was only then that Al realised how truly alone Joyce was at Hogwarts — she had no siblings or cousins here, no friends, and was the only one to harbour this opinion that magic was stupid — for whatever reason, Joyce seemed to hate magic for interfering what would've been a normal life for her.

But still, Al wondered as he fell into a deep slumber, what was there at home that Joyce didn't want to part from so badly?

* * *

><p>On a more positive note, Christmas morning came around much faster than expected.<p>

Al didn't quite believe it was Christmas already until he sat up in bed and found a massive pile of cards and presents from his family — all piled up at the foot of his bed.

He felt quite lucky that he had no dorm-mates because it saved him form dealing what would be a whole lot of weird stares from his dorm-mates.

To kill time, Al opened up a few presents — most of them had been sweets — Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes and the like — there was also included many Christmas Cards — Rose had sent him a hand-made booklet of simplified notes on Defence Against the Dark Arts (no doubt because he _seriously_ needed help in that subject) — a few mince pies (which was more than enough for Al) — warm home-made fudge — and the ever-lovely Weasley jumper; handmade by his only living grandmother — it was a soft blue colour, with dark blue hems and a big 'A' in the same dark blue in the middle. Al stared at it — thanking his grandmother not to have made it Gryffindor red — that would've been too much.

Knowing not to break the tradition, Albus put on his Weasley jumper, shoved his presents and cards into his trunk, grabbed the box of fudge and the box of mince pies and promptly left his dormitory.

* * *

><p>Scorpius, apparently, had not been prepared to see this — but then again, Al probably should've warned him about the Weasley jumpers. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him, unsure of what to say.<p>

"It's tradition." Albus had said.

"You've got a lot of traditions," Scorpius said. "you know that, right?"

Albus shrugged and offered him the box of mince pies. "I can't stand these — you have 'em — apparently they're good."

Albus didn't look like he was about to take no for an answer so Scorpius accepted the mince pies.

"Come on." Albus said. "Let's go find Rosie — I bet she's opening and reading absolutely everything."

And so, with Al enjoying his fudge and Scorpius the lovely mince pies, the two boys headed for Ravenclaw Tower.

* * *

><p>With help from Necia Beverly, the two boys entered the Ravenclaw Common Room.<p>

"Hey look — it's Malfoy! And Potter too this time — nice jumper by the way!" laughed Izzy Grover as she headed in the opposite direction. "Anyway, if you're looking for Rosie, she's probably still in the library."

"What's she doing in the library?" Scorpius asked.

"Dunno." Izzy shrugged. "But she said something about teddies and swans — if that makes any sense. Merry Christmas boys!" Izzy then left the common room.

"I get the swans but," Scorpius said. "what's the teddies bit about?"

"Not teddies." Albus said. "Teddy — Teddy Lupin. Come on — I think Rosie's got some answers for us."

* * *

><p>They found Rosie scrolling through a pile of history books — all open and laid out on the same table. Rose herself, was wearing her Weasley jumper (which was red and had a white rose instead of the letter 'R') and was rummaging through the books — looking for something. She hadn't noticed either of them arriving.<p>

"Merry Christmas … ?" Scorpius greeted her.

"Merry Christmas Rosie!" Albus said. "What in Merlin's name are you looking for?"

"Yeah, Merry Christmas guys," Rose said finally looking up, "it's um … actually I asked Teddy about the Swan Lady."

"We know." Scorpius said. "Your friend Izzy told us."

"What'd Teddy say?" Albus asked.

"I asked him if he knew an Asian woman that had anything to do with swans." Rose said. "And he said the only name that came to mind was Cho Chang — apparently she was a Ravenclaw whose Patronus is a swan."

"So …" Scorpius asked. "what are you doing now?"

"Well," Rose said. "I couldn't really ask Teddy anything else without making him suspicious so I'm trying to find out what I can about her and …"

"And?"

"Cho Chang was a Ravenclaw." Rose said. "And she was a part of something called the DA."

"What's that?"

"I don't know." Rose shrugged. "But personally, I think we need to visit the Swan Lady — or rather, _Miss Chang_ again."

* * *

><p>Despite it being Christmas, the trio wasted no time in heading outside the castle and heading over to the Forest — Rose and Albus had still not discarded their Weasley jumpers for this; the Weasley jumper tradition was simply too valuable — although keeping in mind they needed not be spotted. It was much harder to be quiet and unseen in full daylight and covered in white snow where even the smallest speck of dirt could be spotted miles away. Still, as everyone was inside keeping warm, this was slightly easier.<p>

But they could only venture so far before they were spotted — and by a Prefect, no less.

"Hey!" called Connor Duncan-Bell — a sixth-year Ravenclaw and a Prefect. "Where do you three think you're going?"

"Uh …" Albus said weakly. "… nowhere?"

"Get back here!" Connor said.

Rose nudged them — they had no choice, they'd have to come back another time. Growling, Albus followed Rose and Scorpius towards the stupid sixth-year.

Connor took them to Professor Vivier and told them of how he'd caught the trio venturing into the Forest. Vivier thanked Connor before dismissing him.

She looked absolutely furious.

"Miss Weasley! I thought you'd've better sense that this!" Vivier said to a guilty Rose. She then turned to Albus. "And you Mr Potter — what were you thinking? Did you too perhaps wanted to become _another_ missing Slytherin?"

Albus ignored the confused glances Rose and Scorpius gave him.

In the end, she took them to the Headmaster's Office. The room was empty and Vivier told them to stay put, and then promptly left to go find Headmaster Dumbledore.

So, Al, Rose and Scor simply stood there in the headmaster's office, with nothing to do. When he was sure Vivier was on the other side of the castle, Albus spoke.

"Come on — if we go now, we can make it into the Forest before Vivier or Dumbledore come back."

"What?" Rose said. "No, Al! We can't — we'll only raise more questions! We're in enough trouble as it is! And on top of that — it's Christmas!"

Before Al could reply, a new voice interrupted.

"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Miss Weasley."

"Who said that?" The three looked around, trying to find the voice. There was no-one else in the room except for them — and the voice sounded like it belonged to an old yet amused man.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" said a different voice — clearly annoyed. "Look over _here_ you dunderheads! The portraits!"

Their eyes finally landed on two portraits, side by side.

The first was an old man, with long silver hair and beard, a long and crooked nose that looked like it'd been punched, _hard_ — his eyes were a brilliant soul-piercing blue and behind his half-moon spectacles, they sparkled with mischief, kindness and satisfaction. His robes were an unusual purple — even in the portrait. He seemed familiar somehow …

The second man was much younger and thinner, with sallow skin and shoulder-length greasy black hair that fell in curtains around his face — his robes were black and flowing — his dark eyes were penetrating and held some kind of peace. He did look pretty annoyed though.

The first man laughed. "Oh come now Severus — I wanted them to find us on their own."

The second man did not look amused. "Oh please Albus, by the time these dunderheads found us, _if_ they found us that is, Hogwarts'd've at least ten new headmasters."

"W— What?" Al asked — did he hear that right?

Rose seemed to catch on. She read the names under the portraits and nudged her cousin. "Al — you might want to read this."

And so Al did.

The first man, the older one, was called _Albus Dumbledore_ and the second, greasy haired man was called _Severus Snape_.

"Oh Severus!" said Albus Dumbledore's portrait. "I believe this is James' brother!"

"You know James?" Al asked, a lump forming in his throat.

"Do we know him?" Severus Snape sneered. "Your brother has been the most frequent visitor to this office — and he's only been a student for two years!"

"Severus, look!" said the old man. "The boy has Lily's eyes!"

Snape looked at Al like he was some lost love, which was slightly unnerving.

"I— I'm Al." the first year introduced. "Harry Potter's son."

"_Are_ you now?" Snape said. "I _never_ would've guessed."

"Severus, let the boy speak."

"James never told you about me?" Al asked. "If he always came here?"

"Your brother does speak of you." The old man was smiling. "And he does so fondly. I hope you know Al, that your brother loves you very much."

Al clenched his fist. "That git doesn't love me."

"But he does." The old man's smile didn't fade. "He speaks of how he cannot wait for his little brother to start Hogwarts — and he wishes for his brother to be in Gryffindor so that he may teach his brother everything he knows."

"H— He what?" Al asked.

"Your brother loves you very much Al, even if he isn't very good at showing it." said the old man. "He was quite disappointed that you weren't in Gryffindor — he was quite eager to be your House mentor. He wanted to teach you many things — but alas, he cannot, for you are both in different Houses."

Rose covered her mouth. Then she spoke.

"Did James ever call Al by his full name?"

The two men blinked. Then shook their heads.

"No, I'm afraid not Miss Weasley," said Albus Dumbledore. "James always referred to his little brother as Al. Please Mr Potter, do tell us your name."

"My dad named me." Al said. "Al — Albus Severus Potter."

Albus Dumbledore smiled fondly. Severus Snape, on the other hand, stared in surprise or shock for quite a while, then composed himself.

"I … beg your pardon?" Snape finally said.

"Believe me, that's what I'm thinking." Al said, a bit dazed. "But I was named for two headmasters of Hogwarts and one of them was a Slytherin. And Dad said that Slytherin was probably the bravest man he ever knew."

Snape was in shock again.

"When did he say that?" Rose asked.

"Just before I got on the train."

Albus Dumbledore still smiled.

"So what was it?" Al asked. "What did you guys do that I'm named after you?"

"Oh Al, that is quite a long story." Albus Dumbledore said. "And if your father hasn't told you — I'm not surprised. He had every reason not to."

Al clenched his fist. Scorpius cleared his throat. "Uh, Rose?"

"Oh yes!" Rose composed herself. "Professor, can you tell us anything about the DA?"

"Ah, the DA. That brings back memories." Dumbledore had a bit of a mischievous look in his eye. "But Miss Weasley, why would you want to know about the DA? As I recall, that was supposed to remain a secret."

"Our family's just chalk full of secrets, isn't it?" Al asked, clearly annoyed.

"Al, be quiet!" Rose said. "We don't know if Mum and Dad were involved in that!"

"Ah, but Miss Weasley, how wrong you are." Dumbledore said. "As I recall, it was the joint efforts of Mr Harry Potter, Mr Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger that originally founded the DA."

"But what _is _the DA exactly?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, forgive me Mr Malfoy — I didn't see you!" Dumbledore said.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Potter, Weasley and Malfoy?" He said. "This is quite the unusual trio of dunderheads, don't you think so?"

"Does it really matter?" Al asked. "Now, will you _please_ tell us what this DA is and why Dad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione '_founded it_'?"

"Now now Potter," Snape said. "no need to get all impatient about it. Keep up the attitude and you might lose your only source of information."

Al glared at his sneering namesake.

Dumbledore chose to carry on. "The DA, standing for Dumbledore's Army was, as I recall, a secret organisation founded by your father and his two best friends in their fifth year so that they may teach their fellow students how to defend themselves, practically."

"But," Rose was just as confused. "isn't that the purpose of Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"That is true, Miss Weasley." Albus Dumlbedore said. "But during the time of your uncle's fifth year — the D.A.D.A. teacher then was appointed by the Ministry and was ordered to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts solely in theory — under the orders of the then Minister—"

"—preventing the students from learning anything when they needed to most." Scorpius finished. "Because that was the year just after Voldemort had come back but Minister Fudge didn't believe it. Isn't that right?"

"Well, looks like the Malfoy boy is more informed of his history than the dunderhead spawn." Snape said.

"Wait—" Rose was still confused. "—so the DA was trained to fight _against_ Lord Voldemort?"

The portraits nodded, "Yes."

"So, they were the _good guys_?"

"Their intentions were good, if that's what you mean, yes."

"And … Cho Chang was part of this organisation?"

"I believe so."

The trio remained stumped.

"Pardon me for asking Miss Weasley," said Dumbledore, "but you do not seemed satisfied."

"Professor," Scorpius said. "do you know what happened to her? To Cho Chang?"

"… I'm not entirely sure Mr Malfoy. I did not live long to find out." Dumbledore said. "But I should think that after the defeat of Voldemort, she might've been quite relieved. And I do hope she moved on from the death of Mr Cedric Diggory."

"What does Cedric Diggory's death have to do with Cho Chang?" Al asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling mischievously behind his half-moon spectacles. "but, I do believe that Mr Diggory and Miss Chang attended the Yule Ball together."

Rose gasped and covered her mouth — a sign of realisation.

But before anyone could say anything, Dumbledore spoke again. "Now then, I believe we've given you enough clues. Please ponder on what you've heard — don't forget to read in between the lines, and I wish you all good luck! My brother will be coming up soon …"


	13. Irwyn Weasley

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Needless to say, Christmas was a lot well spent back at the Burrow. Each Weasley and Potter had had a good time overall — even without Rose and Al — who, save for Neville, were the only ones missing.<p>

Hugo Weasley had to say that for the first Christmas without his sister, it wasn't so bad. Hermione had dropped Hugo off at the Grangers at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. Hugo loved his grandparents because he understood that because they were Muggles, they wouldn't live as long as wizards so Hugo valued the time he spent with his grandparents. They had breakfast together, just the three of them. He'd played a few pieces on their grand piano — his grandmother had made Hugo take piano lessons — and Hugo, eager to let his Muggle heritage live on, took on the lessons. Besides, it was nice when his grandmother smiled. She gave him lots of presents and hugs. And she always smelled nice.

Since Hugo didn't feel like much in comparison to the rest of his cousins and too-intelligent sister; Hugo latched onto what made him different — his Muggle heritage. And because of this, he'd grown closest to his Muggle grandparents. Anyway, Hugo had stayed with his grandparents for Christmas morning and they had an epic time together, even for a pair of Muggle dentists and a young wizard — Hermione came back to pick up Hugo and take him to the Burrow after lunch. So with a happy goodbye, Hugo left with his mother, promising his grandparents he'd be back tomorrow.

Christmas at the Burrow was pretty hectic — no surprise there. If he didn't know for sure, then he'd never have guessed that Al and Rosie were missing. Putting on his white Weasley sweater, which had a black rook (from Wizard's Chess) instead of the letter — Hugo left his mother in the kitchen (after greeting his magical grandmother) and went to seek out his cousin and best friend in the midst of the chaotic liveliness that was his family. When he found Lily in her pink Weasley jumper that had a white lily on it — she had attached herself to Uncle George's leg and was yelling about how she wasn't going to let go until she got a new toy broomstick to compensate for her old one.

Knowing his cousins, Hugo guessed they must've either hidden it, stolen it, ruined it, broken it — or most likely, all of the above. After they'd gotten over this tantrum of Lily's — Lorcan and Lysander had arrived with the news that Luna and Rolf would be arriving later that evening. But, much to Hermione's, Angelina's and Ginny's chagrin, this meant that James, Fred and Lorcan were reunited — which was basically saying the apocalypse had been summoned. However, instead of creating chaos like they were known for doing so, Fred, Lorcan and James took a seat and began a long, hearty discussion which started with the topic of the trio filling each other in on events and strayed off to discussing their latest — as they worded it — "experiment". Neither Hugo nor Lily wanted to know what this particular _experiment_ was, so they left the troublesome triplets and went to keep Lysander company.

For some reason, Lysander didn't want to tell Lily about Al — Hugo wondered why. So instead, Lily asked about Hogwarts in general and both Hugo and Lily sat down and listened quite earnestly as Lysander told them of his tales at Hogwarts (most of them were about James, Lorcan and Fred getting detentions for blowing up empty classrooms). Other stories included Quidditch matches — since Lysander was Keeper for the Slytherin Team, he told them how the Slytherins creamed the Gryffindors in November without James and how the Hufflepuff Seeker had managed to win his match, surprising everyone.

By the time Lysander's wonderfully detailed tales were finished, Luna and Rolf had arrived with Uncle Charlie. After the many greetings and hugs were over, Lily confided in Hugo how she thought it was sweet that Lysander only smiled when his parents were around. She deemed it a Christmas miracle that Lysander could smile this year. Since last year, Luna and Rolf had missed Christmas being late from their expedition and although Lorcan had James and Fred to cheer him up, Lysander was the saddest they'd seen him.

Soon after, Hannah, Ally and Frank had arrived too. Apparently Neville was at Hogwarts, because there some Gryffindors who had decided to stay at Hogwarts and as their Head of Year, Neville had to stay too. It didn't take long for Ally and Domi to get together and start talking as if they were back at Hogwarts. Hannah joined Hermione and her sisters-in-law. Though, it may have just been a trick of the light but for a second there, Hugo thought he'd seen Hannah nod at Uncle George.

Uncle Charlie had been disheartened that "Fireball" (Al) and "Ridgeback" (Rose) had decided to stay at Hogwarts for that Christmas without telling them why. (See, Uncle Charlie had set nicknames for every single one of his nieces and nephews — based off species of dragons he dealt with.) Hermione asked some of their cousins if they knew why. Victoire, Dominique, Fred, James, Lorcan and Lysander all attended Hogwarts and by the way they went silent, it was clear they knew. But they'd only said that it was not their place to tell them why. Harry had given James a questioning look to which he shook his head. In the end, Lorcan said that they'd stayed behind because they wanted to keep their new friend company. In reply, Molly (their grandmother), had asked why they didn't just bring their friend over. Everyone (who was at Hogwarts) shared a look before Lysander said that their new friend didn't want to be a burden and he was too stubborn to have his mind changed. So Molly smiled and said "Maybe next time."

Oh, how oblivious she was.

* * *

><p>But they soon forgot about Al and Rosie, because Uncle Charlie had taken all the kids outside, Teddy included, where he had a surprise for them. To their great surprise, Uncle Charlie had brought back a baby dragon — a Common Welsh Green as Uncle Charlie called it. He showed everyone the little dragon — the girls all deemed it adorable and even Hugo had to admit, it was surprising that this small lizard that could fit on Uncle Charlie's forearm would grow up to be a great, vast dangerous wizard killer. It looked harmless — it was so young, it couldn't even breath fire yet, which made it all the more safe. Still, being the oldest and most responsible, Teddy asked if it was alright for Uncle Charlie to have brought the dragon all the way from Romania. To this, Uncle Charlie said that this one was bred in captivity and it had only hatched two days ago — he was to raise it anyway (because murdering a dragon is just wrong and unforgivable) so after asking for permission, Uncle Charlie was allowed to bring the tiny dragon for all his nieces and nephews to see on Christmas.<p>

Then, Uncle Charlie did something that caused Teddy to pick up Lucy so it'd be safer. Uncle Charlie asked if anyone wanted to hold the dragon. Ally, James and Lily were the first and most loudest. He carefully handed Ally the little dragon and she didn't look at all scared. She talked to the dragon telling it that when it grows up, it shouldn't kill lots of wizards. Instead, she gave it a list of students from Hogwarts she didn't like, and told the dragon that it should probably not kill them, just burn their house down or something. Domi petted the dragon in Ally's hands, ignoring Ally's message to the dragon. Then, Uncle Charlie took the little Common Welsh Green and placed it in James' grasp. To their surprise, the dragon climbed up James' arm and to his shoulder where it walked around from behind James and nestled itself onto his other shoulder quite comfortably. Uncle Charlie assured them that it wouldn't breathe fire and kill James — because it couldn't. James also didn't seem to mind the dragon — he petted its head and asked if he could keep the little guy.

Uncle Charlie laughed saying that wouldn't be a bad idea as the dragon had already grown attached to James. The dragon then jumped from James' shoulder to Fred's where it walked down his arm and both him and Lorcan stroked the little dragon. Uncle Charlie then took the dragon and carefully placed it in Lily's hands. She seemed content with it. The dragon and Lily stared at each other for a while until Lily said hello. Instead of replying, the dragon curiously turned its head towards Hugo. In reply, Hugo stroked its scaly back. The dragon seemed to like that.

Eventually, everyone wanted to try holding the dragon so Uncle Charlie passed the dragon around, and other times it jumped from their palms, to someone's head and climbed down to their shoulder, walking around, acquainting itself with everyone.

Afterwards, as they filed back inside, the dragon was perched on Teddy's head — the way Teddy's hair kept changing colour fascinated the dragon. Lily once again confided in her best friend how she found it sad that something so little, precious, harmless and adorable would grow up and cause so much trouble for so many people. Hugo laughed, asking if she was talking about the dragon or James. Lily playfully scoffed, saying that there was no way that James was ever that adorable. The two laughed but when Victoire asked what it was they found so amusing, they scurried off, stifling their laughter.

* * *

><p>Needless to say, Aunt Fleur had recoiled at the sight of the dragon, as if she was remembering something unpleasant. Uncle Harry seemed to know what it was because he laughed, petted the dragon and said, "Come on Fleur, it's only a baby!"<p>

Hugo didn't know what inside joke Uncle Harry had with Aunt Fleur when he said that, but he didn't really want to know. Uncle Harry seemed to have a lot of inside jokes — and none of them were particularly sane. Or made any sense.

It was late evening when the whole family, and Luna and Hannah too, were all gathered in the living room. How they all fit, Hugo told Lily, was a miracle in itself. She only laughed and said that he'd been spending too much time with his maternal grandparents. In defence, he told her that she hadn't been spending enough time with her second cousins. She'd given him a dangerous look for mentioning them. Then, Hugo asked if she'd actually visited said second cousins that morning. She said yes then, making sure no-one was paying attention to them, confided in her best friend that she suspected that Lucas might be coming to Hogwarts with them. That shocked Hugo — he asked Lily what Lucas' dad had said and she shrugged — she didn't know.

Their conversation was cut off from the call for dinner.

* * *

><p>Christmas dinner in itself was a hectic miracle. Everyone (save for Al, Rosie and Neville) had been present and clad in their Weasley jumpers — even Ron was wearing his classic maroon jumper which instead of having the letter R, had what looked like the curved tooth of a big lizard — Hugo wondered if it was a dragon. Then he wondered what that had to do with his father. When Frank asked about it, Ron smugly said that it was a basilisk tooth and Hermione had bit her lip, slightly reddened and changed the subject.<p>

If it was one thing that both Rose and Hugo had inherited from their father, it was their love for food. All Hugo remembered about the food that night was that everything he tasted was delicious beyond description. Everyone else was enveloped in their own discussions. Domi and Ally were telling Hannah about what subjects they were going to take next year — because the professors had already started lecturing them about it. Uncle Charlie had taken Uncle Bill, Molly, Arthur and Uncle Harry into the other room to tell them something. James, Lorcan and Fred were laughing about something and discussing Quidditch tactics since the February match was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff — and you could never start too early, besides, those Hufflepuffs may seem innocent, but on the pitch, they were as ruthless as Slytherins. Lysander was talking to his parents about his own Quidditch match. Roxanne, Molls, Louis and Frank were listening to Uncle George tell them about his newest product, much to Aunt Angelina's chagrin. Lucy, Victoire and Uncle Percy were all laughing about something Hugo couldn't quite remember. Teddy, Aunt Audrey and Aunt Fleur were having their own discussion where Teddy was failing to learn French, much to Aunt Fleur's annoyance and Aunt Audrey's amusement. Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Mum and Dad were having one of their "inside joke" discussions, reminiscing on the past.

Soon, Uncle Charlie cleared his throat to make an announcement. Hugo stopped eating to pay attention. Uncle Charlie told everyone about how there had been an _incident_ back in Romania (causing Ally to ask if dragons had dispersed, ready to take over the planet and kill everyone — which thankfully, wasn't the issue). He'd said how it'd be difficult to raise the dragons that were bred in captivity (because they shouldn't be killed) and so they'd been dispatched to different areas over the world. And he told everyone about how they needed somewhere to keep this Common Welsh Green and Uncle Charlie, who'd done a lot of convincing, had managed to make it so that the little baby dragon he'd brought would be staying here at the Burrow.

The kids all cheered at the news of having a pet dragon. Lucy had gotten out of her seat and hugged Uncle Charlie saying it was the _best Christmas present ever_. Even then, the more responsible and wary members of their family, such as Uncle Harry had asked if that was a good idea. To this, Uncle Charlie had said that the dragon would only be staying here for two years, before it grew too dangerous — Uncle Charlie would be back in two years' time to collect the dragon.

Still, Hugo thought, it was a good Christmas present as any.

And then, their cousin Roxanne had asked the most important question, the one that triggered a whole new argument — if the dragon was staying with them for the next two years — what would it be called?

Everyone disagreed on what it'd be called. Then, Luna had said they should probably call it something to do with the colour green — since it was a Common Welsh _Green_. That — the cousins agreed on. But they were all stumped on what to call it. In the end, cousin Molly suggested they call it Irwyn — which was a Welsh name that meant green. Since they couldn't find a more suited name for their pet Common Welsh Green, Irwyn was a unanimous winner.

But when James had said that he couldn't wait to rub it in people's faces that he had a pet dragon, Uncle Charlie scrapped the idea immediately. He said that the only other condition that allowed Irwyn to stay was that no-one outside the Burrow could know about Irwyn or else he'd have to be dispatched. Not wanting to part from their newest friend, the Weasleys, Potters, Longbottoms and Scamanders all made a pact to stay loyal to Irwyn and keep him secret.

"Well," Uncle Bill joked, "Charlie brought home no dragon wife — but at least he brought a baby dragon!"

The uncles and aunts all laughed, their grandmother sighed exasperatedly as Grandad Weasley patted her back. Then Molly asked how did she _not_ see this coming?

Then, Louis asked if Gran would be making Irwyn a Weasley jumper for the next two years as well. Uncle Bill ruffled his son's head and said of course — Irwyn was one of their cousins and no cousins get left behind — regardless of species.

They all laughed at Uncle Charlie who rolled his eyes.

Still, their Christmas didn't end there. After dinner, the kids all rushed out the living room where they told Irwyn the good news.

Uncle Charlie came to join them and the whole family re-gathered to watch as Uncle Charlie gave instructions on how to care for Irwyn — Uncle Charlie was going to leave on the same day the Hogwarts Express was coming so they only had three days left to learn everything. As well as giving demonstrations, he assured them that he'd leave written instructions for them. He also said that he'd regularly send them the supplies they needed. And if they ever needed to deliver a message, then the adults knew how to conjure Patronuses. He also said that they needn't worry because two or three of his colleagues from the Romanian reserve would be coming to stay and keep an eye on Irwyn.

* * *

><p>"Hey," Ginny said, half-joking, "who's going to have the bigger surprise? Us or Al and Rosie?"<p>

The people who attended Hogwarts contemplated this.

"Eh," said Domi. "it's about the same."

The other students agreed.

Everyone else looked confused. What could it possibly be that Al and Rosie were hiding that was equally as surprising as a pet dragon?

* * *

><p>"I wanna hold Irwyn!" Lucy squealed finally.<p>

The kids looked at Uncle Charlie for approval and he nodded — Irwyn was completely safe.

Finally, Lucy got to hold her newest cousin.

Irwyn stared at Lucy in confusion.

"Welcome to the family." Lucy said. "Irwyn Weasley."


	14. Magic of Quidditch

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

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><p><em>My profile is now updated! Listed there are all the time of when I update what and when. Give it a read. <em>

_Please** vote **on the poll on my profile (if you read my other fic** Reading with Hogwarts** — runs in canon with this one)._

_On another note, chapter fourteen already?! (insert horrifying attempt at dance solo)_

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><p>Headmaster Dumbledore had been more furious than Vivier — which Al didn't really think was possible. Al didn't remember exactly what his headmaster had said, but he'd mentioned something about stupidity, genetics and James. Initially, he wanted to punish them by making them clean out the whole castle without any assistance from people or magic.<p>

Thankfully, Albus Dumbledore was as kind as his smile — he convinced his brother not to be too harsh on the curious first-years. Then, of course, who had walked into the office but a _goat_. Rose had yelped and Scorpius had just stared in confusion. Al just shook his head — he'd never understand his headmaster.

Still, after a lot of convincing, the headmaster had settled for the children serving detention with Professor Vivier. But Vivier said she couldn't — because she had to concentrate on her older students, they needed preparation for their exams and you could never start too early — especially for a subject as complicated as Transfiguration. So, as it turned out, the trio were to serve detention for a week with who but Professor Longbottom.

* * *

><p>Now, Neville had been one of those people at Hogwarts who'd noticed and been surprised by the new-found friendship of this particular trio.<p>

And it seemed that during their time in detention, they'd realised this — they'd noticed Neville raised his eyebrow in confusion and staring at them, trying to understand what exactly had happened to create this most unusual of trios.

But, it was quite unnerving how quiet the three were. Like, if they made even the slightest form of noise, it would cost them their lives.

"So," Neville said on their second day of detention. "what exactly was it that you guys did?"

Nobody said anything. The trio exchanged a look — contemplating whether or not they could trust Neville. He was a family friend after all — heck, he was practically family anyway! But in the end, he was still their professor and he was still one of the people who had kept such a big secret from them — a secret that was obviously going to affect their lives, whether they knew about it or not.

"Neville," Rose paused, as if Neville would reprimand her for being so informal, then carried on when it was safe. "d'you know someone called Cho Chang?"

Neville raised an eyebrow. Why were they suddenly interested in Cho? "Yeah — I did. Why?"

"Oh." Rose was prepared for this question. "I was just looking up some Ravenclaws to talk to other than Luna — y'know to get an idea of what it was like for the last generation."

"Right." Neville said.

"And so," Rose urged, "I was wondering, d'you know what happened to her? Where she might be?"

Al and Scorpius would've congratulated Rose on her subtle interrogation skills — but her question had just struck them more curious than ever. They turned to Neville.

Oh Merlin, what if he _had_ an answer?

Neville, himself, was quite deep in thought.

The last time Neville remembered seeing Cho in person was back in May when she was there at the memorial with everyone else. (Which Harry had managed to keep a secret for so many years — Teddy was probably the only one who knew about it. And he was stuck babysitting all the Weasley-Potter kids, even though he really didn't want to at first. Still, after losing Fred, and so many countless others, it may have been the wiser solution.)

He had seen Cho, but he couldn't really tell them that he'd only seen her at the memorial, now could he?

"Um … uh …" Now, as much as Neville had grown into this brave warrior of pure awesomeness, even he had moments where he became where that hopeless crybaby from his own first-year. This was one of those moments.

Just then, Malfoy couldn't help himself.

"Was she at the last memorial?" he blurted out.

Neville was so shocked at the sudden question, the word "Yes," just slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"What memorial?" Al asked.

"Oh Al, _honestly?!_" Rose said in a tone that proved she was Hermione's daughter. "It's obvious there's a memorial — what with Teddy's parents, your paternal grandparents, Uncle Fred, and not to mention Professor Snape, and Professor Dumbledore—"

"How do you know about them?" Neville asked.

"Never mind that," Rose's tone reminded him strongly of that bright young witch who'd helped him in Potions for most of his time at Hogwarts, but hadn't hesitated to paralyse him when he'd tried to get in her way. "Have you heard from her since then?"

Neville opened his mouth to answer when he changed his mind.

"Hang on!" Neville stood up straighter, "You're in detention! When did this turn into an interrogation?"

Rose huffed. "Well, _you_ started it."

Neville ignored her and resumed their detention.

Needless to say, the topic was never brought up for the rest of their detentions.

* * *

><p>Their week of detention was over quite soon and not long after, the castle was filled up again from the return of the students from home. Joyce, thankfully, had reverted back to her old self — the not-so-angry, independent, but still-full-of-advice self that she was before her attempted escape from Hogwarts.<p>

Victoire, Domi, Ally, Fred, Lorcan, Lysander and James too had come back from the Burrow.

Al had ignored James since the day he stepped back onto the castle grounds and vice versa.

He remembered his namesake said that James still loved him but from the wary look that James always gave him, Al pushed that memory back into the dark corners of his mind. What did that old crackpot know anyway?

James had also started to ignore Rosie, so Al had an idea of why James still hated him.

"It's me, isn't it?" Scorpius had caught on. "It's me he hates."

Al simply slung an arm around his friend. "Well, that's his loss. We don't live to please the git."

Rose simply bit her lip and stared at Al in thought.

"What?" Al asked. "That git can do what he wants — _I don't care._"

"But Al …" Rose said. "You're _brothers._"

"_Were._" Al said. "Now, can we _please_ talk about something else?"

Rose and Scorpius shared a wary look.

"But Al—"

"You know what?" Al said. "I've just remembered. If I don't finish that essay by tomorrow, Vivier'll have my head. So … see you guys around."

And with that, Al left to the Slytherin Common Room, trying to keep his eyes from stinging.

He hated James. He hated James. He hated James. He hated that no-good selfish immature baby git who was anything but his brother. He hated him.

Al stormed into the Slytherin Common Room — not affected in the least by its low temperature. Practically throwing open his stupid homework, Al tried not to think back to the last time he heard James.

"… can't still be mad about Al being in Slytherin." Lorcan's voice had said.

Now, Al wasn't eavesdropping on purpose, he was just passing by when he heard the Idiot Trio mention his name. And Al simply couldn't help himself. He wondered if it was the Marauder blood in him but shrugged it off.

"I'm not mad about that!" James had said. "I didn't think he'd _actually_ be in Slytherin … but I guess I must've jinxed it."

"So what's—" Fred had said before being interrupted by a small explosion and crying out in pain. "Merli— why are we doing this again?"

"Patience, my dear brother." Lorcan had said. "We have to get this right — James wants to make his grand return quite memorable."

Al rolled his eyes. He was sure he could hear James grin. Of course his Idiot Brother wanted to celebrate the end of his suspension, by risking _another_ suspension.

"Is it that Malfoy kid?" Fred asked. "Mate, am I bleeding?"

"Yes and no." James said. "Be careful with that!"

"Alright, calm down." Lorcan said. "But I mean, he can't be all that bad."

"Yeah if— ow—" Fred paused. "—if Rosie and Al can be friends with him for so long then he can't be all that bad."

"Yeah well, I don't like it." James said. "It's unnatural."

"James. It's a _kid_." Lorcan said. "Not a Death Eater."

James said nothing. Al had left before he heard anything else.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked.

Al looked up to see Joyce. "Wh— Hah?"

"You've been staring at that parchment," Joyce said. "for ten minutes now."

Al looked down and realised that he hadn't yet started his essay.

"What do I do?" Al asked. "James is being a reluctant close-minded git."

"Don't ask me." Joyce said. "Never had a brother."

Al began packing up all his stuff — there's no way he'd get it done at this rate.

"_But_…" Joyce carried on. "I'd say just give him time. He may be all grumpy now but eventually he'll see sense."

"How long?"

"You can't _measure_ people's feelings!" Joyce cried. "You can't _actually_ expect me to say that on 17th January 2018, in Herbology at twenty-seven minutes and forty-six seconds past two, James Potter will realise what an idiot he's being about this whole issue, can you?"

"Well, I don't expect it to be _that_ accurate." Al grinned.

Joyce rolled her eyes. "I don't even think the Inner Eye has the power to predict people's emotions."

"The what?"

"You'll learn in Divination."

"So …" Al asked. "how do _you_ know?"

"Read a textbook kid. They've got them all stacked up in the library." Joyce said. "_But_ — personally, given the rivalry between your families along with the war being hidden — I'd say your brother'll come around in a year — give or take."

"What d'you mean a year?!" Al asked. "I know he's a git, but a _year?!_"

"Hey." Joyce said. "It could be longer."

And then she promptly left.

* * *

><p>Al was glad that it was January. Not only did it mean his birthday, but also another Quidditch match — Slytherin versus Ravenclaw.<p>

Rose had stuck with her House. As had Al. If his real family wasn't going to accept him, then it's like Professor Laverick had said — your House is like your family.

Besides, Slytherin wasn't all that bad. At least he wasn't related to most of the House.

Being in Slytherin let Al be himself — it gave him something like his own identity.

He was a son of The Boy Who Lived — people expected great things of him. Which was quite unfair, Al thought, since, he wasn't his father. But he had it worse than his siblings because Al _looked_ just like Harry, all the way down to the glasses.

So he was a son of the great hero Harry Potter — which meant he was the greatest child ever who could do everything. (Well, that's what everyone thought he was.)

Then, his name. Potter, to further establish his parentage. Albus Severus, named after two great Headmasters for Hogwarts. People who had lived their own lives, done great things in their own way, and in the end, died in their own way (well, one of his namesakes had killed the other, but he tried not to think about that). He was named after dead people.

Al didn't even have his own name. Or his own looks. Those were all handed down from somewhere.

All he had was his green tie. To show that he was a Slytherin — that he was a person much different to Harry Potter.

Even the Sorting Hat had brought up his parentage. That annoyed Al — couldn't he go two seconds without being compared to someone?

After all those years of being compared to these people, Al wished the Hat would've just stuck him in Hufflepuff so people would see how useless he was. Or that he was a Squib. That would be hard, but at least he'd be _Al_ and not Harry-Potter-Junior.

The Sorting Hat wanted to put him in Gryffindor even when he was "suited" for Slytherin. The Hat had wanted to take this route because — surprise, surprise — it had worked for his father.

_No._

He had had enough. Al humoured the Hat but deep inside his head, there was a desire for Slytherin.

Put me in Slytherin. Al had thought. Put me in Slytherin and I'll show them who I am.

The Hat had apparently seen this deep into his head and complied — much to his surprise. But, in some sense, Al was relieved. This was a chance to prove himself — to prove to the world that he was not, and never would be Harry _freakin'_ Potter(!)

Sometimes, or really, most times — Al wished his Dad hadn't saved the world. He wished he would've just turned the responsibility over to someone else and led a normal life.

Because since his Dad had survived that Killing Curse, all hopes of Al ever having a normal life had vanished completely.

Remembering his second cousins, Al wondered if there was a parallel universe where Harry hadn't been The Boy Who Lived — where he'd just been some normal wizard. Where Al had his own name, instead of two dead Headmasters'. (Maybe he could find a Ravenclaw, a scientist, Lucas and Tristan, and then build a portal to this parallel dimension?)

Al headed outside with the other Slytherins, ready to watch a good match.

He passed Joyce on the way and asked her if she was coming to see the match. In reply, she only scoffed, said Quidditch was stupid and headed back inside the castle, claiming to be doing something of actual importance and productiveness. Al decided to forgive her for insulting Quidditch, after she didn't even want to be at Hogwarts in the first place — which surprised Al, because when they'd told Tristan and Lucas, they'd been jumping at the chance to come. (Al had kept this a secret between his siblings but after much contemplation, they were sure that Lucas was going to get his Hogwarts letter next year.)

When Al finally found a place in the stands, he was more than surprised to find his brother there.

Too shocked to remember their feud, Al asked who the hell this guy was and what he'd done with James. Because James Potter didn't just decide to support Slytherin — especially for something like Quidditch.

James, too, had forgotten their feud — well, Al thought he had until he asked him where Rosie and _that guy_ was.

Al told him how he was staying here because Slytherin was his family and how Rose stuck with hers. Then he explained how she'd taken Scor by the ear and dragged him out to the Ravenclaw stands without giving him two nanoseconds to make up his own mind.

To his surprise, James laughed. Then said how it was so like Rosie to do that.

Al said nothing, fearing that if he said the wrong thing, it would ruin this moment they were having in the middle of their biggest feud yet.

Instead, Al scrapped that risky topic and asked James what the bloody hell he was doing here in the Slytherin stands.

When James explained, Al wondered how he could've forgotten. James wasn't supporting Slytherin because he wanted to — he was supporting Slytherin because he didn't want to support Ravenclaw. Because Zoe Marler was on the Ravenclaw Team — they had another argument and here James was ready to distract the poor girl during her game.

Al had met Zoe Marler himself, and found she was actually quite okay. Why James hated her, Al didn't understand. He felt sorry for Zoe Marler, knowing what it was like to be disliked by James — and be on the receiving end of his pranks (numerous times).

Then, the game began.

James was never hesitant in yelling something out to Zoe Marler — hoping it'd distract her. At first it did, she got hit by a Bludger and fell off a broom but her team-mates helped her out and she was back in the game soon enough. But as the game went on, she learned to ignore him. So instead of yelling futile insults, James got pulled into the spirit of the game. Al was thankful the match went on for so long. As if they had never been feuding, James and Al, side by side, yelled, groaned and cheered throughout the game.

They didn't need to be talking, together with the Slytherins, the two brothers eagerly watched the game — Al could believe he was nine years old and watching a match between the Holyhead Harpies and Puddlemere United with his family; his brother and himself being in sync with their shouts and screams.

Lily was a great sister and all but Al knew she only played dress-up to annoy them — she herself hated it. He also knew that she too got excited over Quidditch matches and it was one of the many things the siblings bonded over. But she was a girl — she could never join in with them truly — they were brothers. When Al and James watched a match, supporting the same team, they were so in sync, it was unbelievable. And it was a recurring miracle.

Al was quite glad to know that this feud wasn't so big that it would ruin their synchronisation — if that was ruined, they were no longer brothers. He wondered if Joyce was right and in a year's time, they could be watching this very match and not be so annoyed at each other.

Al was never going to admit it, but he missed his brother. James was a prick, and a git, and an arse, and a prat, and a toerag with a mean sense of humour but he was Al's only brother and despite his tendency to victimise his brother with his "experiments", Al did love his brother. And missed him too. Very dearly. He wanted his brother to grow up and look past Scor's last name — he wanted James to not be so mad at him.

He wanted what James had wanted to give him. He wanted his brother to steal his glasses and run away then tell him he was a right idiot and then tell him that it was okay being in Slytherin. Al wanted to tell James why he wanted to be in Slytherin. He hadn't told anyone yet — he wanted James to be the first. Al wanted his brother back. Sure Al was only eleven and it had only been three and a half months, but Al missed his toerag of a brother.

Truth be told, Al was terrified. It was his first-year at Hogwarts and there were ghosts and flying objects and talking knights of armour and disappearing staircases and he was in Slytherin all by himself. And not only this, but there was also the encounter with the Thestral in the Forbidden Forest (terrifying really) — his only source of comfort being Lysander, who was in fact no help.

Lysander was always a solitary kind of person. His parents were always on some kind of expedition and his only twin brother was in a different House than him. He always only had himself. It was kind of difficult for him to help Al out with his new-found fear. But James would probably insult Al about four times before assuring him that it would be okay. James was cruel like that but it was how he communicated and Al had gotten used to it. And now, he missed it — James had acted like this since he was born and growing up with James, it was too weird with James suddenly being so quiet around him and pretending like he didn't exist — he felt empty.

Al missed James, but he wasn't going to admit that, because getting mad at his brother just because of his friends was stupid. Scor was a great friend, and he was nothing at all like what Uncle Ron had told them about his father, (which James obviously believed) — Al wasn't going to be the first to give in and apologise to James or break off his friendship with Scor. No, James had to realise for himself that he was being a prat — that feud was childish and a thing of the past. If James was going to ignore Al and pretend like he didn't exist, Al would do the same. He knew his brother — so he knew that James wanted Al to realise what an idiot he was being, apologise and never speak to Scor again. But Al had had enough of James pretending he knew everything. Al was his own person — he knew a good friend when he saw one. He wasn't going to break under the pressure and forget Scor. No, James would be the one to realise that he needed to grow up.

But in that Quidditch game, they had forgotten everything. They were back to being brothers, who personally felt that Lysander was being a particularly rubbish Keeper and that the Ravenclaw Seeker Hawking was seriously annoying. He was a Ravenclaw, but played like a Slytherin. So Al was quite surprised to find out that the Slytherin-like-git Ryan Hawking was dating the much-nicer Zoe Marler. But James had said they suited each other because they were equally rubbish Quidditch players — he couldn't've been more wrong — Zoe had so far scored sixty points for her team (and that was without her team-mates' help).

But like all good things, the match came to an end. Ravenclaw won, but just barely. Slytherin had put up quite a fight. The Slytherin Seeker, Ren Castell had gotten the Golden Snitch but due to all the points the Ravenclaw Chasers had scored, Ravenclaw had won by ten points. James had said that Slytherin would've won if they weren't playing against such a rubbish Seeker and his rubbish Chaser girlfriend. (But he hadn't told them this — yet.) When the commentator, fourth-year Hufflepuff Ivy Crockett, had announced Ravenclaw as the victors, James and Al both had bellowed in disappointment (along with most of Slytherin House and any other non-Ravenclaw supporters who'd decided to join them).

Then, as people dispersed, James ruffled Al's hair so hard his glasses fell askew, wished him happy birthday, said that they'll get the Ravenclaws next time and then ran off to join the rest of the Idiot Trio. Al straightened his glasses and stood up straight, not quite believing what had just happened.

Scorpius and Rose joined him later. He was still quite dazed but remembered how Rosie was glad that Ravenclaw had won this match ("It was all thanks to Zoe, obviously") and Scorpius had asked him politely how he thought the match was. Al only smiled and said it was a good match.

And as he walked back into the castle alongside his two best friends, Al couldn't stop smiling — Quidditch was amazing. Not just the game itself, but the effect it had on fans. For instance, it could make two brothers forget their grudge of hatred towards each other and join together to watch a good match and possibly even help these two brothers reconcile (even if one of them was being a right arse). Joyce may hate Quidditch, but even she couldn't deny that it was a magical game — and not just in the physical sense.


	15. Lightning

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Joyce sat up in bed and found a most unpleasant sight. Across from her, in the girls' dormitory, the dark eyes of Priscilla Angell glared back at her.<p>

"You recover fast." Joyce greeted. "Only three months?"

"Shut up Mudblood." Priscilla growled, her eyes turning red, reminding Joyce that this was most definitely _not_ Priscilla.

"So, how'd you get back?" Joyce folded her arms and leaned back, ready for a long hearty chat. "I thought the Swan set your wand on fire."

Priscilla grinned evilly. "You can't get rid of us that easily Mudblood." she said. "Besides, she set _Priscilla_'s wand on fire."

"Finally admit you're not Priscilla?" Joyce smirked. She knew she should stop teasing this impostor, who potentially could kill her, since they were the only ones in the dorm and her newly-repaired wand was not even three inches away from her.

Priscilla growled at her slip-up. "How _do_ you know about that?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"Priscilla used to live in my neighbourhood." Joyce said. "Though, I have to admit, it was quite clever of you to impersonate a dead Muggle-born. No-one would suspect that."

"Why are you even protecting the boy?" Priscilla's voice asked. "It's not like you owe him anything — and you're not particularly fond of him either."

"Look, personally, I couldn't care less about the kid." Joyce said, getting up. "But I was assigned this task for whatever reason — don't know what the hell she was thinking, really — and I've got nothing better to do for the next seven years … so, I thought, Hey, why not? It really kills time, y'know."

"You can't protect him forever."

"Ah, but that's my favourite part." Joyce smirked. "I can sure as hell die trying."

Priscilla raised an eyebrow. "You're willing to risk your life for the boy?"

"Why not?" Joyce said, making her bed. "It's not like my life's worth much anyway. Should probably put it to good use since we're both going to die someday."

"Death …" Priscilla said. "… is not one of your fears?"

Joyce laughed, as if Priscilla was joking. "Death? Please — I grew up with Death as my cousin. Mum's dead, Pree's dead, my grandparents are dead, my aunts are dead and for all I know, Dad could be dying right now! I have nothing to live for — so why not die for something of actual value?"

"What makes you so sure I won't kill you soon?" Priscilla asked in a voice that would've made any other first-year quiver in year.

But Joyce was strong. "You may not be Priscilla, but I'm not stupid. If you kill me, they'll get suspicious — and you seriously can't come up with a cover story on such short notice." she reeled off. "You've got other things to worry about. Such as re-recruiting the Malfoys."

Priscilla growled and clenched her fists. How did she know so much?

"Besides, you're not here to kill the kid." Joyce carried on. "You're only here to watch him. And don't forget, I'm watching you too, _Pree_."

Priscilla stared at Joyce weirdly before realising that this Mudblood knew Priscilla at a young age — so they had nicknames.

"Glad to know, _Joy_."

Joyce smiled mischievously before exiting the dormitory.

Seriously, thought Priscilla, that Mudblood _needed_ to die. _Soon._

Then, remembering what Joyce had said about being assigned this task, Priscilla's impostor wondered if Joyce was a part of AVOE … it would make sense, after all.

No, Joyce had no reason to be a part of _that_ group …

… or _did_ she … ?

* * *

><p>Al was annoyed.<p>

He had a History of Magic essay due in two days and he hadn't even started. Rose, had disappeared completely, leaving both him and Scorpius by themselves, which Al found was quite selfish of her. She had gone to study in secret, in the Ravenclaw Common Room where she could "concentrate better".

Yeah right. Al had grown up alongside Rose so he knew everything about her — especially when she was lying. She only left them alone because she didn't want to give in to their pleas of help because Rose, even before she was declared a Ravenclaw, would never in her life turn down someone seeking knowledge.

Another reason, his birthday had been a bit disappointing in comparison — sure his family still sent him lots and lots of awesome presents, and Rose had even helped him in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and he'd found out that both him and Scorpius were older than Rose, and the Idiot Trio had celebrated by rigging the castle with random Dungbombs so something went off every two seconds (Al had to congratulate them on their wonderful timing abilities) but it just wasn't the same without James' usual game of stealing Al's glasses first thing in the morning. The lack of this annual brotherly challenge did make Al feel quite empty. But then he remembered the match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw and hope bubbled up inside of him. The next match was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff — and now that James was back, Hufflepuff was going down.

And the worst part, they couldn't ask Swan-Woman anything else. Why? Because Scorpius had spotted a Thestral flying away a few days ago — and there were two people aboard that Thestral (apparently) one of them was the Swan, with her long black but adorned with twigs hair and a lack of footwear. So she was gone, and they didn't even get to ask her whether or not she really was Cho Chang. But, Rose said, it's not like she was going to tell them the truth about her name if she hadn't done so before — this wasn't like Rumplestiltskin (Scorpius had looked at them weird when she'd mentioned him).

To everyone's (except Joyce) surprise, Priscilla Angell had arrived back at Hogwarts a few days ago perfectly fine. She claimed that something suspicious had drawn her towards the Forest, but before she could venture inside, something had knocked her out from behind and everything was black after that. The next thing she remembered was waking up on the very same spot she had been knocked out, completely fine. She couldn't remember anything else, no matter how hard she tried. The professors were still wary of her but they didn't say anything. Al noticed that Headmaster Dumbledore had a pained expression, his eyes full of some kind of dread.

Joyce seemed to know something about Priscilla because she and her would glare at each other in the Hall and every time Priscilla tried to ask Al for help on homework (he didn't understand why — she herself knew how rubbish Al was with homework), Joyce would cut in and say she'll help Priscilla. Then the two would leave, Priscilla growling at a somewhat triumphant Joyce. He wondered what was going on with those two. Joyce also didn't believe Priscilla's story about her mysterious disappearance for the past three and a bit months. Al had drawn this conclusion when he'd caught Joyce muttering something about Veritaserum and clueless idiots.

Sometimes, Al concluded, maybe it was best to leave Joyce alone.

And not only this, but now Al had detention. Again. But not with Neville, but with Hagrid. Just great. Rosie was going to be on his case more than ever now.

Professor Queavillon had told Al he was lucky that his parents hadn't been contacted. Al, on the other hand, felt that he could've done much worse. All he did was punch the guy.

See, Al had gotten into a skirmish of sorts with the fourth-year Zachriel Parkinson — which was always a bad idea. Even Lysander couldn't stand him. (And if Lysander hated something, he had a really good reason to.) Al don't know what got into him but the guy just made him want to fight. Which was stupid, considering Parkinson was at least four times bigger and stronger. Zachriel Parkinson was the only person that fit all of Uncle Ron's stories about stuck-up good-for-nothing gits of Slytherin. He was everything Al didn't like, a liar, a bully, a git, loud, rash, aggressive, violent, rude, and annoying.

Anyway, Al was just in the Common Room, existing like he did, when the idiot noticed him and opened his mouth. He asked Al what he was doing here instead of Gryffindor, he told Al that just because he didn't belong in Gryffindor didn't mean that he could just waltz into Slytherin. Al didn't care much about this. But then, he began talking about how such a disappointment Scorpius Malfoy was — being too wimpy to be in Slytherin. Then he said that it was appropriate how the two outcast losers were friends because it wasn't like anyone else would accept them because of how disgracing they were. Now Al didn't care much about what Parkinson said about him — over the year, he'd learned to ignore it; but when he brought up and started insulting his best friend, Al lost it. All he remembered was the strong, burning desire to beat up that guy and tear him to pieces.

Of course, neither Professor Queavillon, nor Daphne Rose (the sixth year Prefect who broke the fight and reported the boys) understood this.

Lysander, being the great mentor he was, only said that Parkinson wasn't worth it. Al didn't like it, but he guessed that Lysander had his own skirmishes with this guy.

But Al still wanted to teach that guy a lesson. Because not only had he insulted his family, his best friend and himself, he had also said some unrepeatable things about Joyce. He'd said such things about her that Al had concluded two things, either he was a worsened reincarnation of Bellatrix Lestrange; or he would grow up to be another Voldemort; or potentially end up in Azkaban within ten years of leaving Hogwarts (given that he actually graduates). He'd also guessed (and Lysander had not argued on this) that Parkinson was such a horrible bully, that he could even get a reaction out of Hugo — or make Lucy's ever-present smile disappear — both of which were impossible and undone to this day.

But Joyce simply didn't care, she just sat down and read her textbook, like she usually did. And it was smart of her too because as it turned out was that the only thing Parkinson had to say about her was her lack of magical heritage in Slytherin and her blood-red hair which looked like it was unkempt and may possibly be related to Crookshanks. After that, he ran out of material and targeted Al again.

It was only then Al understood why he knew next to nothing about her. _No-one did._ Joyce was a mystery on her own, and the only person who seemed to know anything else, was herself and herself alone.

* * *

><p>Al trudged down towards Hagrid's most homely of huts in a most sour mood, not quite expecting what he was about to see.<p>

Down at the hut, waiting for him was not only Hagrid, but two other students who had scored a detention. His own two best friends — Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy.

"What happened? Did you guys get detention?" Al asked, caught off guard.

"No, we're here for fun." Rose said. "_Obviously_, we got detention."

Now Al had grown up with his cousin so he didn't need the folded arms, furrowed eyebrows or sarcastic tone to know full well Rose was not pleased with her receiving of a detention.

"What did you do?" Scorpius asked, curious to see Al just as Al was to see Scor.

"Punched a git. Prob'bly more, but I can't remember." Al said, the memory of his hate for Parkinson resurfacing. "What about you?"

Rose said nothing. Scorpius' aura changed somehow and he just smiled helplessly.

"Can't seem to find my way to class on time." said Scor, with a hint of doubt. "Professors have had enough."

Al cautiously turned to Rose, telepathically asking her what had happened.

"_You tell me!_" Rose burst out. "_All_ I did was correct Professor Arminger on _one_ thing — one _insignificant_ little detail and he just up and gave me a _detention_!"

Al rolled his eyes. He should've known that Rose would only get a detention for trying to correct a teacher. It was _so _plainly obvious.

He shared a look with Scorpius and they both shook their heads helplessly. Typical Rosie.

Hagrid broke the conversation, announcing it was time.

Al didn't know what it was time for, but he followed Hagrid anyway.

Rose, sensing his confusion, asked Hagrid what it exactly was that they were looking for.

Hagrid didn't turn around, but said that there was a stray Thestral spotted in the Forest — and it needed to be tamed.

"Um, Hagrid?" Al asked. "Are you sure it's a good idea that you take three first-years to a Thestral?"

"I'll only say this Al," Hagrid said. "Professor Dumbledore would'a given you a hell lotta worse punishment. Yer lucky."

"_Lucky__?_" Rose shrieked. "Hagrid, it's a Thestral — that's a class XXXX creature — and we're only twelve! And we can't even _see_ Thestrals! And who knows what _else_ lives in the Forest at this time of night! I thought it was called the Forbidden Forest because it's _forbidden_!"

Rose had started ranting at this point, which meant that she was bloody terrified. Hagrid silenced her by saying if she kept shrieking like that, she was going to wake up Aragog. Rose had heard stories about Aragog from her uncles and did not want to meet him in person, ever.

Scorpius didn't even give a confused look at this point. He had somehow gotten used to not knowing or understanding what him and Rosie were on about half the time. Al was just about to tell him who Aragog was (partly because he knew how it felt to be left out; and partly because his Marauder side wanted to annoy Rosie just for the heck of it) when Hagrid stopped walking.

If Rose was scared about just venturing into the forest before, she was terrified now — Hagrid's idea had been to split up and search the Forest in search of the Thestral. And Rose didn't get to stick with Hagrid and be safer — oh no, she had to go with Scorpius whilst Al and Hagrid went the other way. Not that Rose had anything against Scorpius, she just didn't want to go any further without Hagrid. But Hagrid had chosen that moment to act like a professor and say this was their punishment and so she had no choice but to go with Scorpius.

And before anyone else could kick up a fuss, Hagrid nudged Al forward and led the way. Al didn't look back but he did kind of feel sorry for his cousin.

* * *

><p>Scorpius walked towards the abyss in front of them. The Forbidden Forest was sometimes called the Black Forest and in all honesty, Scorpius could see why. It was dusk and already Scorpius saw nothing but black. Still, he kept on walking, and he didn't know why.<p>

Rose was following him. No way was she going to stand alone in the middle of the Forest, hoping that someone would come find her before she died. He didn't know why, but she was actually following him deeper and deeper into the darkness where nothing was visible rather than wait somewhere else, or even stop him. There was silence between them, but Rose refused to let go of his hand — she needed constant assurance that a friend was nearby and alive — he didn't blame her.

Every time there was the slightest noise, Rose would squeal and tighten her death-grip on Scorpius' hand; as if he would be dragged away by what ever made the noise. Scorpius didn't know where he found the patience for it because every time Rose was scared, Scorpius was scared too (but he didn't show it). He knew if Al was in his place; he'd've lost patience a long time ago — it was things like that where him and Al differed. But that wasn't necessarily bad.

Scorpius was raised as a Malfoy, so he was raised to keep a calm demeanour. This had become a habit of his and it seemed like Al and Rose were trying to break this habit of his — something which wasn't impossible, but wasn't easy either. He was thankful for them, but remembering the true reason for his detention, he wondered if their friendship was okay.

Scorpius jerked his head at the voice, stopping abruptly. Rose walked right into him but he shush'ed her and strained his ears to confirm whether or not what he heard was true.

"Wh— What is it?" Rose asked, beyond terrified.

This time, it was Scorpius who tightened his grip.

"N— Nothing." Scorpius said. "N— at all. Nothing; absolutely nothing."

He couldn't see her, but he could feel Rose's strong gaze on him; like she did when she's studying and analysing something in her head.

Feeling uncomfortable under her knowing gaze, Scorpius pulled her along and carried on walking.

There was an uncomfortable silence, where Scorpius did nothing but hope and pray that she didn't say anything else.

But as she was a Weasley _and_ a Ravenclaw, she did speak.

"Why did you get a detention again?" Rose asked.

"I told you," Scorpius regained his calm Malfoy voice. "I keep arriving late to lessons."

Scorpius kept his gaze forward, not that he could see anything, but he could still feel her blue eyes studying him carefully.

"How come?" Rose asked. "I've walked with you to Transfiguration and Flying; you know your way around. What makes you late? _Every_ single time?"

Scorpius didn't say anything.

"Is it James?" Rose asked finally.

Damn Ravenclaw. Scorpius thought. He didn't answer her though.

"_Scorpius_," Rose said, using his proper name, "it isn't right."

And that was pretty much when Scorpius lost his cool.

"I _know_ it isn't right!" Scorpius yelled, turning around to face Rose's silhouette, clenching both his fists, "But it's the only way!"

Her blue eyes, shrouded in the darkness of the Forest, stared back at him, both in defiance and in confusion.

Making a sound that showed how annoyed and truly frustrated he was inside, Scorpius turned back around and started walking.

Rose followed him, knowing full well what he meant. He had told them a billion times now.

After the war, people still disliked the Malfoys, for they were one of the families to be Death Eaters; and most of them used any chance they had to bully them, taking advantage of their fall from dignity. Due to this, Mr Malfoy received quite a negative reaction from the wizards who'd lost family members or suffered greatly from the war. Scorpius did love his father, growing up and seeing people be so cruel to his father was hard but Scorpius had always wanted to help. And here at Hogwarts, the students would bully him; Scorpius let them because he knew that eventually, they would grow out of it — but that would take time. If Scorpius took some pain for his name at Hogwarts, maybe it would lessen the pain for his father — who had already been traumatised and maybe people would see that Malfoys were not Death Eaters — but just a family of people who made a huge mistake.

It was very Gryffindor of Scorpius to do so, Rose had decided and she wouldn't let anyone else change her mind.

"_Still_," Rose said as she pulled Scorpius to a stop, "there _has_ to be another way."

"Look," Scorpius sighed, "we weren't there; you were never told, but my mother told me — and I've seen the toll it's taken on my family, and the people around. The war was _awful_ Rose, at a truly _indescribable_ level. And people are torn, broken, lost and traumatised. They need something to let it out on — and it seems bad, yeah, but trust me when I say this, it will take time, but it _will_ stop. Until then, it's best to let people heal on their own."

His eyes were grey; but they were gentle. And right now, they were full of plead. Rose knew that Scorpius had seen death; he knew what effect this war had taken on the world more than anyone. He was observant like that, even more so than her. It was sad that an eight-year-old had lost his grandmother because of some stupid grudge.

Rose had never lost anyone around her; sure one of her uncles were dead but she never knew him, so it wasn't as hard as it was on Uncle George. She didn't know how Scorpius felt; to have loved a person so dearly and be loved back and then have them gone; just like that. Gone and never to return. Any other eight-year-old, herself and her cousins included, would go find the person who was the reason for the death of her loved one and make them pay. But Scorpius, being the Gryffindor he was, understood that violence was not the answer; but patience. In some ways like that, Scorpius reminded Rose of her Uncle Harry, who had gone through so much in such little time yet still believed in peace.

"Alright." Rose said, surprising the boy. "But you have to trust us too — we'll be with you every step of the way."

There was a shine in his grey eyes, kind of like the one her Mum got when Dad came home safely from an Auror mission that had taken a while.

* * *

><p>Al stared at the round piece of plastic in his hand, away from Hagrid's eyes.<p>

It was a badge; a simple white badge that had nothing on it except a lightning bolt that reminded Al of nothing but the scar that lived on his father's forehead.

He had picked it up a while ago. Hagrid had stopped, thinking that he had heard something and was listening for it. Al and Hagrid found a footprint that Hagrid said belonged to the Thestral. They scouted the area, trying to find another footprint, to see what direction it had gone in. And as Al was looking around, he had stepped on something that felt flat and round, none at all like a leaf or a twig. Removing his foot, he found the little badge, worn away and aged. It had been abandoned here and upon seeing the lightning bolt, Al remembered his father's scar and the story that came with it. He quickly collected it, wondering if it was significant and if so, how? And whose was it? What was it doing here? How did it get here? Why was it abandoned here? And what did his father's scar on the badge mean? What did it symbolise?

Was it like red poppies for Muggle Remembrance Day? Where Muggles wore red poppies in remembrance of all the soldiers who had died in the Muggle First World War? Was the badge like that? Remembering all the great wizards, witches, children and creatures who had died in the Second Wizarding War? Al strained his mind, trying to recall something like that. But there was no badge worn on second May, there was a memorial at Hogwarts, but that was it.

Al looked up from the badge, which he shoved into his pocket and heard screams. Familiar screams.

Rose and Scorpius sprinted towards them, Hagrid apparently saw what they were running from and shoved Al to the side as he stepped in between the Thestral and his best friends.

Hagrid wrestled the Thestral, which seemed to want to leave Hagrid's grip. Eventually, Hagrid began petting the Thestral and feeding it the meat he had brought along.

Rose found Al in the bushes.

Al grinned. "Great job on finding the Thestral."

"Well, it was _really_ easy," Scorpius said, with something that reminded Al of a Marauder-grin, "what with Rose here just squealing every single time she stepped on a twig."

Rose was not amused. "I _hate_ this forest."

Scorpius and Al laughed as Rose scowled, none of them knowing how close they were to the beginning of the adventure that awaited them.


	16. Checkpoint

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>February was almost gone; March was approaching. The Gryffindors had crushed the Hufflepuffs two-hundred and forty to thirty; surprisingly enough, or not. With James back from his suspension, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had not taken long to resume their everlasting and profound enthusiasm — which was clearly displayed in the results of their matches. James' suspension was never mentioned by anyone — everyone acted as though it never happened. But Zoe Marler took every chance she could to rub it in James' face that he had been suspended. (And although Al didn't know why, she too stopped mentioning it.)<p>

In other news, Al had shown Rose and Scorpius the badge and it had stumped them both. But Rose was also reminded of Al's dad's scar and she had tried everything to look up badges — although there were tons of books on Harry Potter's scar; there was absolutely nothing about badges; something that annoyed Rose greatly (no surprise there.)

So, like usual, they had no idea about another clue.

* * *

><p>"I really hate this." Al said as he and Scorpius watched Rose study the badge. "Even more so than when James found Dad's Cloak."<p>

"What?" Scorpius asked.

"Invisibility Cloak." explained Al. "Didn't tell me about it and kept jumping out at me. Scared me so bad I was willing to go live with the ghoul."

"Your Dad has a—"

"Well, actually, James has it," Al interrupted. "since he stole it from Dad. I think Dad knows James stole it since he stole the Map as well; but he let James keep the Cloak because Dad doesn't fit in it any more. A shame really. Since it's invisible to any physical or magical thing; as long as you're under it (and you're quiet), you can't really be revealed by anyone."

"_Revealed_!" Rose shrieked. "Oh Merlin, why didn't I think of it _before_?! I'm so stupid!"

"What?" the boys asked. "Did you find something?"

"I think so." Rose bit her lip as she whipped out her wand and tapped the badge three times, and cried, "_Aparecium_!"

They waited. Nothing happened.

Then, the lightning bolt on the badge spun around a few times before pointing in a different direction than before.

"… now what?" Al asked.

Rose said nothing, but she had began her analysis.

"It's changed direction." Scorpius pointed out.

"Yeah," Rose said. "but why that direction in particular? What so special about it?"

The trio turned their heads in the direction the lightning bolt was pointed and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Should we go farther?" Al asked. "Maybe we're not close enough to what it's pointing at?"

"A compass!" Rose blurted out. "It works like a compass! Except pointing north, it points to the destination!"

"You mean those things that they keep in Muggle cars to tell you where to go?"

"Right!" Rose said. "I think we should follow it. Whoever made this was obviously Muggle-born."

"This better give us some answers." Al grumbled.

"Won't know 'til we try it." Scorpius said.

Rose led the way and the two boys followed; none of them aware of what it was they were walking into.

* * *

><p>Rosie had been right; as they moved forward, the lightning bolt changed direction and led them somewhere. So far, they had made it into the Forest; but in a new and undiscovered part of the Forest.<p>

Thank Merlin it was the weekend, because they'd been walking for a good few hours now.

But finally, their destination had arrived.

The badge had led them to a hut. Not Hagrid's hut, but an old abandoned hut that was more run down than the Burrow. The door was missing and the entrance had been blocked off by two planks of wood boarded up. Plants grew in and out of the windows. There was nothing special about it, but the badge was sure that it was quite important.

"I thought Hagrid's hut was the only one in the Forest." Al said.

"Clearly not." Scorpius said.

"This is amazing." Rose said, breathless as she ducked and headed inside. Al and Scorpius followed.

Needless to say, the inside was just as run-down as the inside; if not more. Although nature had more authority in here than outside. A small tree had begun growth in the corner; right through the floor. There was a fan of leaves that reminded Rose of a palm tree. It was on top of a pile of wooden planks; all placed at a different angle; discarded. There was a patch of grass growing through the wooden floor on the other side.

There was nothing of any importance in here.

Although the badge seemed to disagree quite strongly.

"So …" Al broke the silence. "… what are we doing here? There's nothing."

"That's not what the badge thinks." Rose said as she looked down at the lightning bolt which kept pointing eagerly to the fan of leaves that rested on top of the pile of wood.

Rose stared at the badge; then the pile of leaves and wood, back at the badge and then the leaves.

"Don't tell me …" Rose murmured to herself as she shoved the badge in Al's hand and moved forward. She moved the leaves to reveal the pile of wood. "It … can't — There's … no way …"

Scorpius helped her move the wood planks. There were only four.

"Oh … Merlin …" Al said, "Please tell me you guys see it too …"

"Uh huh …"

There was a round circle; resembling a sewer plate except Al was positive it led to anywhere but the sewer. It was plain, except there were three circles on it; placed in triangle formation. There was an empty circle that looked like it was missing a piece on the top (of the triangle formation) and the two circles underneath were what confused Al the most. The one on the left said "AV" and the right one said "OE".

"Oh no." said Scorpius; staring at the whole thing in utmost dread.

"What?" Rose asked.

"This." Scorpius said. "It's a passageway."

"Where does it go?" Rose asked. "How does it work?"

"I don't know where it goes, but as for how it works … this is just a guess …" Scorpius said as he took the badge from Al. "… but it makes the most sense."

It was only when Scorpius took the badge that Al realised all the circles were the same size as the badge. Scorpius then placed the badge into the circle at the top; like finishing a jigsaw puzzle. The badge clicked into place and the trio waited.

Nothing happened. Just as the trio were about to turn back around, a thinner than usual pillar shot up through the metal circle; in the middle of the triangle formation. The pillar was strange as it was covered in thin little holes all throughout; every side, from top to bottom.

Rose had immediately gone into analysis-mode. Scorpius too was deep in thought.

Al was simply in awe at the pillar. Although the resemblance were barely existent, Al was reminded of a honeycomb Aunt Samantha had once shown him.

Scorpius turned around, as if someone was there. But there wasn't. Scorpius turned back to the pillar and nodded.

"I think …" Scorpius said. "… we may need our wands."

"Why?" Rose asked, suddenly tense. "Is someone coming?"

"No, but …" Scorpius failed to finish his sentence, though he was still deep in thought.

Al focused on the pillar and an idea struck him. Whipping out his wand, Al walked towards the pillar. He held his wand in front of one of the holes, and noticed that the hole was a perfect fit.

He turned around to face Rose and Scorpius, who were waiting for an answer.

"Maybe …" Al said, "… it's like a keyhole. And our wands; they're the key."

They looked unsure.

"I don't know …" Rose said. "But …"

"I guess …" Scorpius added. "It's worth a try."

Al raised his wand again when Rose yelled.

"_Wait_!" she said. "What if something happens to you? What if you disappear? What do we do then?"

"We've come this far." Al shrugged.

The trio shared a look. Then nodded in silent mutual agreement.

Together with Rose and Scorpius, Al stepped forward, and stuck his wand in one of the holes. Within seconds, Al wished he hadn't. He felt that familiar pull of a Portkey and gripped his wand tight; determined not to let go. He'd come this far; he wasn't going to let some Portkey stop him.

Although, what Albus didn't know was that in a few years' time, he would be wishing he had just turned around on this day. But alas, this was the day that would trigger the turning point in Al's life and it was a day where a very crucial choice was made.

Just how crucial this choice was, Albus Potter did not know.

At least, not now he didn't.

* * *

><p>The first thing Al thought was whether or not the Portkey had actually worked; because he found himself where he thought was the exact same hut. But on second glance, it wasn't. Plants hadn't over taken the hut. Neither was it abandoned. There was a table, with a map of Britain on it and several figurines that were each a different colour. There were newspaper cut-outs and other pieces of paper on the walls; old and worn out. There was also a chalkboard, currently void of any information. There was a specific poster on the wall that stuck out; it had the same lightning bolt as the badge and underneath it read A.V.O.E. Whatever that stood for. The place also had a deserted feel to it.<p>

Al stood up and had a better look around, momentarily forgetting about his friends.

"Where is this place?" Rose asked, looking around, wand in hand. "Are you okay?"

Al turned to where Rose was looking and found Scorpius stood completely still; looking like he'd just witnessed his own death or something. He was clenching the badge in his hand quite tightly.

"I don't like this." Scorpius said. "At all. We need to leave."

"Why?"

"I just have a really bad feeling about this place."

"As you should." said a familiar voice.

The trio turned around to find themselves staring at the Swan-Lady; but at the same they weren't.

See, the Swan-Lady they'd gotten to know was unkempt and full of muck. But this woman, she still had the same look in her eyes; although she was dressed in clean clothes, without any minor injuries, a scar on her cheek was more prominent and refused to disappear — the mark of a warrior who'd fought in a war. With her Chinese heritage and straight black hair, Al could see the resemblance in the Swan-Lady and Cho Chang.

"Cho Chang?" Rose asked accidentally.

Swan Lady raised an eyebrow. "Someone's been doing their research."

_Well, it wasn't easy_, Al wanted to say, but all that came out of his mouth were questions.

"What is this place? Who are you? What are you? What's going on? What does A.V.O.E. stand for? What's the lightning bolt for? Who are you? Are there others? Who are the others? How many are there? What's going on? What do you do here? Why were you at Hogwarts? Why do you have a Thestral? Why do you have a battle map? Where are we? Does anyone else know about you? Who does? Who are you hiding from? What's your purpose? Why are you hiding? What's going on?"

"Woah, calm down, kid." she said. "I'm not saying anything; but you need to leave. How did you get here in the first place?"

"We found this." Scorpius held up the badge.

The Swan-Lady's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She tried swiping it from Scorpius' hands but he refused to let her. Instead, he tucked it away safely in his pocket. The Swan-Woman growled; and Al was sure she was going to take out her wand and hex the boy.

Instead, she took a deep breath and repeated herself.

"You need to leave." she said. "It's not safe here."

Rose snorted un-lady-like. "After coming this far? We don't think so."

The Swan-Woman lost her cool. If she had a cool.

"You think this is a game?!" she yelled. "You kids don't know what you're getting yourselves into! You need to leave now or you'll be next! It isn't a game! You haven't accomplished anything! This isn't child's play! You have to go now or you'll be in danger! This place isn't for you! This isn't a game!"

"Then what _is_ it?" Scorpius asked, quite impatiently.

The woman made an-lady-like groan of frustration.

Rose folded her arms and asked, "Are you Cho Chang or not?"

The Swan Lady stood up and looked Rose in the eye. She then smiled in an eerie sort of way; like some criminals do when they think they've accomplished something great when in reality, they've just done something horrible and awful.

"Cho Chang is dead to me." she said. "I'm the Swan now."

"So you used to be a part of the D.A.?" Rose asked.

The Swan eyed Rose dangerously.

"You need to leave." she said. "_Now_."

"We're not leaving until you tell us what's going on!" Al said._  
><em>

There was a _pop_ sound and another woman appeared. This one had red hair and brown eyes; though she wasn't a Weasley at all. She was completely unfamiliar.

"Swan," she said. "what's going on? Why are they here? Have we been found? How did they get here? Have they seen the priest?"

"No, Sis." said the Swan. "They found a key somehow. And they were just about to leave. And no, they don't know about the priest — at least not that I know of."

"What priest?" Al asked.

The Swan and the woman shared a look before coming to a mutual conclusion.

Al wondered why the Swan called this red-headed woman her sister when they looked nothing alike. It was when the other woman spoke that Al realised she had been looking at Scorpius.

"Why's the Malfoy kid here?" she asked. "Is he next?"

"Next for what?" Rose asked.

Al and Scorpius wanted to know what.

The woman grinned in that criminally-evil way as she folded her arms. It was dark outside and it only highlighted the danger that these women hid; and suddenly Al wondered if they were actually safe any more.

The woman leaned closer to Scorpius and whispered dangerously.

"You never believed it was an accident, did you?"

Neither Al nor Rose understood that but Scorpius seemed to understand as his eyes widened in shock and he stood frozen.

"You?" he asked. "It was you?"

Scorpius' voice had taken a dangerous tone; but this didn't seem to affect the women.

"Not me, per se." she said. "But us, _yes_. It was us. And we'd do it again — in a heartbeat. _And there's nothing you can do about it_."

She said the last part, dangerously silent; as if she was teasing Scorpius to fight her. But even Al could tell that this was a lost battle.

Instead of lashing out at her, Scorpius clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

"I think we need to leave."

"Glad to know you understand." the Swan said.

"One problem." Rose said. "_How_ do we leave?"

"All of you hold on to the badge," the Swan explained. "then simply say _Portus_ whilst thinking of where you need to go."

Rose stared at her warily when the other woman explained that it would work; even for an eight year old.

* * *

><p>They landed in the same spot as where Rose had cast the Revealing Charm on the badge.<p>

Scorpius was really shaken up by that meeting; or by what the woman had said.

When they were safely back and landed, Scorpius discarded the badge and ran back up to the castle; without saying anything.

Rose picked up the badge and stared at it.

"It's going to take a while," Rose said. "but I think Scorpius has something important to say."

"If he can say it."

Rose began her trek towards the castle and tucked the badge away safely.

"We might need this again." she said. "Come on, Scor needs us; but Al—"

Her cousin turned around with a _what?_ expression.

"—don't force anything out of him, okay?" Rose said. "He's had it so much harder than us, we don't even know."

"I know." Al smiled reassuringly. "But something tells me, we'll find out. With time."

"With time." Rose smiled and followed her cousin up towards Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

><p>Scorpius didn't say anything; and neither cousin made him, which he was immensely thankful for. Instead, they followed the Uncle George tactic: tell a funny story. Although Al wasn't happy (more like he was ashamed to exist), Rose told the story of how Al got so annoyed at James picking on him and leaving Lily alone that he decided to dress up like a girl and changed his name to Alana. Thankfully it did bring a smile to Scorpius' face so Al had not been humiliated for nothing. Unfortunately, Al was so humiliated, he could not remember any equally-embarrassing stories about Rosie. Sometimes, he was really annoyed that she was such a mature goody-two-shoes. It was unfair in a way.<p>

The three friends, gathered at Gryffindor Tower, laughed and enjoyed this moment, neither of them knowing just how important they were in the adventure that was too close for comfort.

After all, they had unknowingly reached the first checkpoint of their adventure; the adventure that would both shape them and break them.


	17. Joyce

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p><strong>For this chapter:<strong> "_AVOE_" is pronounced "_a-voh_" (the "a" is pronounced like in "apple").

* * *

><p>Upon seeing Priscilla's impostor head for the Potter boy, Joyce Hanwell raised her hand and called out to the impersonator.<p>

Thankfully, Potter didn't notice. Instead, Priscilla's impostor turned around with a look of deep hatred in her eyes; like she wanted to murder Joyce there and then.

Which she so obviously did.

But she couldn't.

Priscilla's impostor had passed the _I-will-kill-you_ stage months ago; now she was at the _I-can't-kill-you-so-just-die-already_ stage.

The impersonator approached Joyce with an aura that reminded Joyce of Bellatrix Lestrange; but Joyce wasn't scared or even the least bit intimidated.

They were in the Great Hall, which was always filled with students and had at least one professor on duty. So, this impersonator couldn't kill Joyce here at Hogwarts; it would blow her cover and that was a risk Priscilla's impersonator couldn't take.

Joyce Hanwell was fully aware that with every time she interfered with or provoked "Priscilla", her chance at death grew more and more. Unfortunately, like this impersonator, Joyce too came to Hogwarts for the sole purpose of fulfilling a task that was asked of her; or rather, she voluntarily and consciously agreed to. See, there had been an _incident _with a _certain_ someone that was the one of the two reasons Joyce chose to come to Hogwarts. And this reason had a name.

It was Albus Potter.

Now, beyond that, Joyce refused to think about — in case someone tried Occlumency on her (sure it was a long shot, but there was already a wizard/witch pretending to be a first-year here in the very impenetrably powerful and ancient castle of all time) but sometimes, Joyce couldn't help but wonder if the reason she had agreed was genetic; after all, her own father gave up _his_ life every single day for people who didn't even knew he existed, nor would they ever. Is that why she was doing the same? Because she was following in the footsteps of her parents? Or because it helped Joyce feel closer to both her mother and her father spiritually and mentally, if not physically?

Priscilla's impersonator joined Joyce and in turn, Joyce smiled at her (just to tease her) and asked for help on her non-existent Transfiguration essay, to which Priscilla barely agreed and the two girls exited the Great Hall, leaving the occupants completely convinced that they'd headed for the library or the Slytherin Common Room.

But as soon as they were out of sight of anyone, Joyce headed away from Priscilla without a word. The impersonator made no attempt to follow her; she herself headed in the direction opposite to Joyce.

* * *

><p>If it was one thing Joyce was absolutely sure of, it was that she was in a bad mood.<p>

And that was never ever a good thing … for anyone.

But in all honesty, she _was_ quite frustrated. After all, it had taken almost an entire school year for them to even come close to finding AVOE — at this speed, the entire process may take longer than anticipated. Which Joyce knew was a risk too big and should be best avoided. Usually, Joyce wouldn't mind taking a risk or two (she _did_ try to escape from Hogwarts in the second month of her stay here with nothing but a broomstick) but for this task, taking a risk might just destroy everything that had been built up until now. It would destroy all chance of the events that would carve a most important legend from ever happening.

And that was something that couldn't happen. Because these events were so important crucial that they simply had to be left alone to occur on their own — because if they didn't, it would only delay the issue from its last chance to being too late. And this world couldn't afford to go through another war. It would mean the end of the wizarding world as anyone would know. Chaos and destruction would be everywhere and eventually, the wizards and witches would all wipe each other out.

And the worst part? Harry Potter couldn't do anything to stop any of it — he had already lived and fulfilled his own legend on time. No matter how hard he tried, Harry Potter would be useless in this round. No, the chosen ones for this mission had changed — Harry Potter's role had become that of a civilian; a bystander; a stakeholder; an ordinary wizard. But the chosen ones, who would carve their own legend, didn't know anything — they didn't even know the legend that they were supposed to live, or the legend that the older generation had lived. And this was bad because the chosen ones _needed_ to know about the legend of Harry Potter — after all, it was too closely intertwined with their own legend-to-come.

But they hadn't even begun considering suspecting Priscilla — which meant that they were at a disadvantage. And it made Joyce's job that much harder, because she couldn't interfere. The chosen ones needed to carve their legend with their own hands. It was important. If anyone took on their roles, there would be no meaning to it; and it was decided that no-one and absolutely _no-one_ could carry the burden of this legend except for the chosen ones.

Who unfortunately, were taking their time.

To add to her bad mood, Joyce also had decided to go home for Easter — _just in case_ — and so far, she would be stuck alone with the woman that Joyce hated most.

* * *

><p>"<em>Why<em> in Merlin's name are you following me?"

Joyce shrugged. "I'm bored; and you're always an interesting subject."

"You do realise," said Priscilla's impostor, "that if you continue following me; I'm going to have to kill you."

The Muggle-born shrugged again.

"I know." Joyce said. "But you can't. And you won't. It's too early. No-one knows anything — yet."

"You talk as if you believe," said the apparent Priscilla, "that there is hope."

Joyce gave a knowing smile. "But _I'm_ just a Mudblood; unnecessary filth. Why should anything _I_ say be of interest to _you_?"

Priscilla growled.

"Although it is quite intriguing," Joyce said, still following Priscilla through the castle, "why would someone like _you_ disguise as a dead Muggle-born?"

The impersonator said nothing.

But Joyce had already begun thinking. And if studying the history of the wizarding world, as well as her mother's field of speciality taught her anything, it was how to think like _one of them_.

"You didn't …" Joyce concluded.

"There are already too many Mudbloods at this school," the impersonator said, "what difference would it make? But don't fret; your friend _Pree_ has been quite helpfu—"

SMACK!

Priscilla staggered back, both shocked and hurt from the contact of her face and Joyce's fist. Priscilla looked up at Joyce and saw nothing in her eyes but a desire to kill her. Now normally, this impersonator wouldn't be scared at all of this Mudblood, but the impersonator was in the body of a little girl who apparently, bruised really easily. And the look in Joyce's eyes was too raw to be human; it was like looking at a blood-thirsty wild wolf.

Joyce stepped forward, ignoring the fact that this act could very well get her killed, approached the impersonator, took them by the collar of Priscilla's uniform and pulled her close and whispered quite dangerously.

"I will get you back for this;" she said, "_no matter what_. Mark my words, you bastard."

Then, Joyce roughly threw the girl at the wall and walked away, her mood turning even worse than before.

"By the way," Joyce said, almost out of earshot, "your Dark Mark's showing."

And as Joyce walked off, Priscilla's impersonator pulled down her sleeve, where the skull and snake had grown prominent. The Death Eater, who now looked like a cross between a little girl and a man, stood up and left the corridor for his original destination — which was the source of more Polyjuice Potion.

* * *

><p>"Oh hey, Joyce," Al greeted as he passed by in the corridor. "How ah … okay."<p>

Ignoring him, Joyce carried on towards her destination.

There was no time to stay by and chit-chat — because Joyce made a mistake. She underestimated them. But that wouldn't happen again, because unlike some people Joyce learned from her mistakes — _always_. (This was due to the fact that if she didn't, then karma would always teach her the hard way, but Joyce didn't like to think about that.)

After Madam Pince was absolutely sure that Joyce's note of permission was not at all forged and instead was one-hundred percent real, Joyce headed to the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library; determined to uncover the deep darkness of the Dark Arts.

After all, it was like Grace always said: "_To defeat your enemy, you must first know your enemy_."

(Though others might say _look where that led her_ but Joyce tried not to think about that either. Because after all, Andrew Hanwell was still alive … well, he was the last time Joyce saw him.)

* * *

><p>The Easter holidays, for Joyce Hanwell, were quite mixed.<p>

Her father hadn't come home — according to Emma that is. But Emma had also said that Andy "couldn't make it for Christmas" when in reality, Taylor had evidence that _Andy_ in fact, _did_ make it home for Christmas. And Emma, the evil greedy little witch she was just didn't want Joyce there. What authority did _she_ have? She wasn't going to replace Grace _ever_, even if she thought she did. And besides, Joyce had been with Andy _much_ longer than Emma — and therefore deserved him a lot more than dear sweet _Emma_.

Unfortunately, this time when Emma had said that Andy hadn't come back; she hadn't been lying. So Joyce was stuck with Emma for the Easter holidays, and for the first time all year, Joyce couldn't wait to get back to that dreaded castle of a boarding school.

Not because she liked Hogwarts or anything; but because she hated Emma more than she did Hogwarts.

(What kind of name was Hogwarts anyway?)

However, all ridiculously-named ancient-magic castles aside, it was nice to see Taylor again. The first day back home, Joyce spent with Taylor who updated her on everything that happened for the past several months. And in return, she didn't ask Joyce about anything at Hogwarts — something Joyce was infinitely thankful for. That's why Joyce loved Taylor — Taylor always knew what to say and what to not say. And for more reasons than one, including this amazing act of loyal friendship, Joyce decided that Taylor deserved to know the truth about what happened to Priscilla. So Joyce told her.

She told Taylor about the task that she was assigned for the next decade of her life; about how this very task could be the death of Joyce herself; about what the wizards had done to Priscilla that August and how they pretended to be her just so they could have an insight at Hogwarts; about how Joyce had sworn to avenge their friend, and neighbour. Even if the real Priscilla had been a rotten, spoiled brat — she still didn't deserve the death that she got.

Taylor was shocked and angry — like Joyce had been. So when Joyce told Taylor that she punched the impersonator square in the face, Taylor burst out laughing. And it was at the sound of her hearty laugh that Joyce realised just how much she missed being home. Being normal — ordinary and insignificant.

Everyone else wanted to be _special_ and _unique_ and _chosen_ but Joyce longed to be normal and a part of the crowd. Sure it was great that everyone had a right to express themselves in their own way, Joyce didn't want to. Simply because she didn't know what she'd do. Who was she? What was she? Why was she? Joyce didn't know. Logical reasons included her being the spawn of Andrew and Grace Hanwell, but that wasn't right. Joyce only ever longed for a normal life, she'd go to normal high school, with normal friends, and normal bullies as enemies, maybe a normal boyfriend, (given that she can find one who isn't an idiotic immature loser) graduate with normal grades and qualifications, get a normal job, marry a normal man, have normal kids, grow to be a normal old lady living in a normal old care home and die a normal death and given a normal funeral. Just simple and small. That's how Joyce wanted to live.

She'd only always had one dream and that had been destroyed a long time ago. Since then, Joyce just wanted to be normal.

But _no_, Professor Sybill Patricia Trelawney had to come by on Joyce's eleventh birthday and explain that Joyce had never been normal; and she wouldn't ever be. And Dad decided that it would be best that Joyce go to Hogwarts because it would be both safe, and an adventure. She went partly for his sake, and partly because of the task. Still, every chance she got, Joyce would come home — Christmas, Easter, summer, everything. But Dad had come home before Christmas so Joyce would miss the chance to see him for possibly ever. So Joyce stole a broomstick and flew home — her belongings didn't matter. What mattered was that Joyce was at Hogwarts and Dad at home and nothing, not even a thousand Voldemorts could get in her way.

Because Joyce Hanwell was a born Slytherin; and Slytherins _always_ got what they wanted — as long as they had the determination, motivation and courage.

* * *

><p>If it was one person Joyce loved more than Andrew and Grace, it was Taylor.<p>

They were neighbours since Joyce moved to the neighbourhood after the marriage at age seven. They were never the best of friends, but they stood up for each other around the neighbourhood, and at school. What with bullies like Priscilla around. Priscilla was the reason they were close. And although they weren't friends, or shared opposing views instead of common interests, they were loyal to each other. Along with Taylor, Joyce had also grown close to Morgan and saw him as a little brother — who no doubt would be coming to Hogwarts next year (according to the theories of Taylor and Joyce).

Taylor and Joyce weren't friends but Joyce still looked to Taylor and the Barretts as a second family who, as good neighbours had let Joyce stay over during the Hanwells' "honeymoon phase". (Or just Emma's.) And even now, they hadn't changed. Taylor had asked and Morgan had begged for Mr and Mrs Barrett to let Joyce spend the Easter holidays at their house; which neither Emma nor Joyce disagreed to.

Andrew Hanwell was the one factor in Joyce's family that had stayed since she was born. Unfortunately, his dangerous job meant he was almost always away from home. So Joyce greatly cherished the moments where he'd come home to see her. Joyce knew that her father was a good man because not only did she know him all too well, but also because she believed in the saying that bad things happened to good people. (And after everything their family went through, they _had_ to be good people.)

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, like all good things, the Easter holidays came to an end. Taylor and Joyce shared goodbyes for until the summer. And as soon as Joyce was on the platform, she knew that it was time to get back to work. Hopefully, they had had a breakthrough or something. It was wishful thinking, and pushing it, but Joyce tried not to underestimate people — especially after the brutal and barbaric murder of Priscilla Angell.<p>

She didn't see any of them (maybe a handful of their cousins) on the Hogwarts Express and took an educated guess that they had once again stayed at Hogwarts. And hopefully they had actually gotten farther than they were when Joyce left them. But knowing them, and their level of progress — Joyce knew that they hadn't done anything.

It sometimes made Joyce wonder if they were actually the ones chosen for the eradication process — hopefully, whoever chose them knew what they were doing.

Because if it was one Joyce had learned about her task over the past year, it was that it wasn't going to be easy. It would be a long, difficult journey that would take courage, patience and subtlety. It would most likely lead to her death; but it was a unique task that no-one could or would complete except for Joyce M. Hanwell.

As for why she did agree to it, Joyce herself did not know.

* * *

><p>There were only two to three months left of Al, Rose and Scorpius' first year and AVOE was still an unsolved mystery. Whatever or whoever AVOE was; they were either too recent to be in any published works or very well concealed because no-one and no book knew what AVOE was. Al had wanted to ask Joyce but Rose vetoed the idea. She said that one, if AVOE were that well concealed it had to be for a <em>really<em> good reason (plus it's not like anyone would believe a couple of twelve-year-olds) and two, exams were approaching so they didn't have time to worry about AVOE. And maybe during this time, they'd be able to come up with other ways to find out about AVOE — they had the badge, it wasn't like they couldn't go back.

Scorpius agreed with her, and even Al had to admit he could use a break from this quest for unattainable answers. It _did_ get a bit tiring and disheartening after a while.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Everybody hates fillers — inclu— _especially_ the authors _but_ they're important to the story.


	18. My Brother

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Well, just like that, Easter had come and gone, their first year was almost over, they still didn't know who or what AVOE was — and the best part: the exam season had begun.<p>

It was a few weeks into exam preparation when Al truly appreciated the AVOE issue being on hold. This was because both the professors _and_ Rose gave Al such intense revision lessons that school-work was the only thing that he had the capacity and time to think about. Thankfully, Rose was right yet again as her notes had indeed seeped through into Al's skull and he had gone from failing Defence Against the Dark Arts to barely passing it. Even Professors Arminger and Vivier couldn't find a way to raise Al's grades so the boy was convinced that he'd graduate Hogwarts without even and O.W.L. in D.A.D.A.

It was also only now that Al was thanking Merlin that they had spent the Easter holidays just revising D.A.D.A. notes and going over them. Although they didn't actually know what it was that got to Scorpius, he _did_ cheer up a bit when he actually saw just how incapable Al was of D.A.D.A.; much to Al's chagrin. James had been surprisingly resilient as he had still not said a single word to neither Al nor Rose. Also, they didn't know this but none of their cousins or siblings had told Al or Rose that Irwyn would be living with them. (James and Fred were really looking forward to seeing Al and Rose's reaction at the Common Welsh Green.)

So, all in all, Harry Potter's generation's wish had come true.

Their children were experiencing the normal side of a Hogwarts life.

(Well, they were for now; but we won't get into that too much yet.)

* * *

><p>"Yo."<p>

Al looked up and was surprised to see the blonde.

"Zoe?"

"Last time I checked." Zoe Marler said as she took a seat.

"Do you … uh …" Al asked, "Do you want something?"

"No — nothing in particular." Zoe said.

"Oh … kay …" Al said as he turned back to his revision.

"So how've you been?" Zoe interrupted. "Found a secret passage? Made a new friend? Figured out what the Idiot Trio been up to lately?"

"The Idio …" Al raised an eyebrow. "Is this about the git?"

"'_The git_'?" Zoe asked. "Really Al, I thought you were better than your brother."

"Look Zoe," said Al, "I've got an exam to study for; and therefore, something more important to worry about than some immature git."

"Come now, Al." Zoe said, "Just talk to him."

"And _why_ in Merlin's name would I do that?"

"Because he's your brother!" Zoe said. "Merlin, Al; I can see how you're related. Look, I know you think you're going to beat James at his own game by not talking to him but you're wrong. It's been a year now; just talk to him."

"But—"

"Look, he's your brother. The only person who can change his mind is you. And the way to do that is to talk to him." Zoe carried on. "Even if he doesn't approve of your friendship, he's still your brother. And he doesn't have the right to judge you on who your friend is. Alright?"

Al said nothing; just folded his arms, furrowed his eyebrows and sulked.

"Listen, I don't know what you're like; and I've only known James for three years." Zoe said, "And if it's one thing I've learned about him, is that James is a proud person; he has this thought that he's got a reputation and that he always wins. And he thinks that this whole issue with Malfoy is another competition that he's going to win. But I hope you're better than that. For once, just look past your stubborn boyish pride and talk to your brother."

Al took a deep breath but remained where he was.

"He misses you too."

And then Zoe left.

* * *

><p>James and Fred burst out laughing as Lorcan grinned proudly at his previous words. They had been walking through the corridors, on the way to the Gryffindor Common Room, when the sight of someone familiar pulled them to a stop.<p>

"Uh, James?" Fred asked in confusion.

The trio stared at the young Slytherin before them.

James stared. Lorcan blinked. Fred raised an eyebrow.

"_What?_" Al asked.

"N— nothing." Fred said, taking a step back, scared that either James or Al would lash out and start attacking each other like dogs. It had been a year but you could cut the tension with a chainsaw whenever James and Al were in the same room. It had been a year and they still didn't look each other in the eye. Fred and Lorcan often wished the two would just make up, but both boys knew that this was a matter between the two brothers and the two brothers alone. They had to make up on their own.

"Do you want something?" Lorcan asked Al good-naturedly.

Al said nothing, but glared at them with his clenched fist.

"Come on guys," James said nonchalantly as he carried on walking past his brother, "we'll be late."

Hesitantly, Fred and Lorcan shared an unsure look before they followed James. This had happened too many times and one of these two brothers needed to say something, whatever it was.

Al squinted his eyes as he tried not to cry.

So he was still going to walk away … his only brother … going. After everything they'd been through — was it all to be destroyed by a small, insignificant friendship? Al thought brothers were for forever; but obviously not. And how was it that James could go so long without talking to him? Did Al mean nothing to James? Was that it?

Match of pride and resilience or not, Al decided there and then that Zoe was right. If he didn't say something now, he was going to regret it later on. James may ignore him for the rest of his life but that shouldn't mean that Al shouldn't try. Besides, Al knew James best so he knew that James had his own way of saying things. James was going to hate him forever, just for being friends with Scorpius and being in Slytherin and Al wished that was not how it was. Al was only a boy in need of his brother.

So, in one last attempt to ask for his brother back, Al turned around and cried, "_I'm sorry!_" his voice on the edge of breaking.

At first, Al thought that James was going to carry on walking as if that meant nothing. Not wanting to see it happening, Al turned back around and cried. He cried because he missed his brother. He cried because his brother didn't love him. He cried because there was nothing that Al could do to get his brother back. But most of all, Al cried because he just wanted his brother back. His first year at Hogwarts was meant to be better, with James by his side; like they used to be back at home. He cried, because he'd just wasted an entire year of Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Al said again, more to the divine power than to James or himself. He truly was sorry; sorry that he hadn't said anything to James for so long. Sorry that he didn't try to talk to his brother sooner. Sorry that he had made his brother mad — this one wasn't his fault but after a year of your brother not talking to you, it gets heavy on the heart. But most of all, Al was sorry that he'd chosen Slytherin over Gryffindor, because he hadn't known that he was about to give up his only brother along with all of Gryffindor too.

"Merlin Al, you're such a baby!" said James' voice. "I mean, look at you! You're a wreck!"

Did he hear that right? _Yes_, yes he did. James had accepted this apology; well, he did in brother speak. James had come back. James had turned around. James had talked to him! James had said his name! Which meant, _James didn't hate him_. They were still brothers. James still loved his brother. After being in Slytherin, after befriending Scorpius, after everything. After an entire year, James didn't hate him.

Al, still crying, held out his fist and punched James in the gut. To his reply, James took his wrist and pulled his baby brother into a much-needed hug.

"You're stupid." Al mumbled as James hugged him. Although what he meant was, _I missed you._

"And you're related to me." James grinned, meaning _I missed you too li'l bro_.

It was as James hugged Al, listening to him sobbing as he realised how stupid he had been. How could James be so cruel to his little brother? Listening to Al sobbing like a baby made James realise how much pain he had inflicted on his little brother. What kind of brother was he? Why was he always so cruel to his brother? With every sob and tear, James' heart grew heavier and heavier with the guilt of knowing and regretting the pain he had inflicted on his little brother.

Why was he so insensitive? Al didn't deserve this; he deserved a better brother, one that wouldn't always make him cry. But James knew that no matter how many times that he made Al cry, neither James nor Al would swap each other for anyone in the world. And it was at that James found out how much the two brothers loved each other. Because after this entire year, Al had come back to him, Al had apologised first, when it should've been the other way around.

Then again, James did feel that out of both of them, Al was always the better, more mature person.

* * *

><p>After Al stopped crying, James had fetched them both some pumpkin juice, (as Coke was unavailable at Hogwarts) and they had taken a seat on a bench in some courtyard. Originally, James had gathered both of them so that he could apologise to Al properly, but the words just refused to come out. So they both sat in silence, unsure of what to say, after an entire year.<p>

"So …" Al stared at his glass of pumpkin juice. "… how's Dad?"

"He knows you're in Slytherin." James said as-a-matter-of-factly; he simply couldn't resist teasing Al.

"He—" Al looked up, suddenly tense. "_What_?! _How_?!"

"I told him." James said simply. "Back when I was suspended."

"You _what_?!" Al asked. "Why would you do that?!"

"Relax!" James said as he took a sip, "Dad didn't tell anyone — and he didn't explode either."

Al sighed in frustration. Dad was going to _hate _him. What would he say? What would he say when he found out that his best friend was Scorpius? Would Al be disowned? Would Mum hate him too? And what would Lily say? What would Dad think — that Al was on his way to becoming a Death Eater? He'd be so disappointed in him.

"Calm down." James said, somehow reading his thoughts, "Dad won't be disappointed. If anything; he'll be proud."

Al looked at him uncertainly. "How would _you_ know?"

"_Because I'm proud too_."

Al stared at James in shock as he grinned and took another sip.

Not only did James not hate him, but he was proud too? James was proud? What was he proud of? Slytherin? Scorpius? The Thestral? The badge? No wait, James wouldn't know about that. But what was it that he was proud of? What did it matter? James was proud of him and he didn't hate him either.

Still, there was one thing they had to establish.

"Scorpius is still my best friend." Al said firmly.

"I know." James said, swinging his glass lightly, watching the liquid swish from one end to the other.

"So …"

"I'm still uncomfortable with it, and I don't get it all but," James said, "you guys seem pretty close. And it's only been a year. If Alana wants to be weird and hang around with Malfoy and be a Slytherin, fine by me. But don't expect me to be best friends with him."

"Good enough." Al said, the pumpkin juice looking a much brighter orange than it would have two months ago.

"But I have to ask," James said, finishing his pumpkin juice. "how exactly did you guys become friends again?"

Al grinned in a way that confused yet intrigued James.

And after _months_ of waiting, Al finally told James everything. He told James about the secret their parents had hidden from them; about why Al had chosen Slytherin over Gryffindor; about the mysterious letter from Uncle Charlie to Hagrid; about that night where he'd stolen the piece of parchment from Rosie; about the Forest; about the Thestral; about the Swan Woman; about Scorpius, about how his grandmother had died and his family had gone through so much in and after the war; about meeting his namesake portraits; about the badge; about AVOE; everything.

And James had listened intently. He hadn't believed much of it, until Al had shown him the badge.

Al had accomplished so much, in such little time, and by himself too. He truly was his own person now. But, it was kind of saddening that Al didn't need James any more. James had been looking forward to this year more than anything; he wanted to teach Al everything he knew, be his guiding light at Hogwarts. But after hearing Al's first-year at Hogwarts, it was all too obvious that Al was going to accomplish even more great things, and so he obviously didn't need James any more. Which was kind of disappointing, because it destroyed James' purpose as an older brother.

Well, that's what James thought until Al said:

"I wanted you to be the first to know."

James blinked at his little brother, who looked up at him, almond shaped green eyes looking for some sort of approval from him.

And it was then and there that James found that despite the fact Al was going to grow up and be his own self, and accomplish many great things, James had been, always would be and still was Al's older brother. And even as a saviour of the planet, an older brother would always be special.

James ruffled Al's already unkempt hair, already proud of his little baby brother.

* * *

><p>Lysander stared at the arm that had been slung around his shoulder by surprise.<p>

The Slytherin turned to his Gryffindor brother.

"I take it James and Al finally made up?"

"Lysander! I am shocked!" Lorcan said in mock drama, "Can I not visit my dear brother simply from the kindness of my heart?"

"Okay Lor, I love you too." Lysander turned back to his book. "Now can I carry on?"

"Mum and Dad sent a letter."

At these words, Lysander dropped the book and turned to his twin brother.

Lorcan smiled at knowing Lysander enough to know what got his attention. True to his word, Lorcan took out the parchment he had been holding and the two brothers opened it together.

How was it that James had went so long without a brother again?

* * *

><p>Fred looked up at the sky and smiled, knowing that his dear little sister would be coming to Hogwarts the next year.<p>

Just something else to look forward to, he thought.

Soon, it would be his turn to be a proud brother.

(Not that he wasn't already proud.)

* * *

><p>"Is that James?" Rose asked Al and Scorpius.<p>

Said boy was apparently headed towards them.

"Al," Rose asked again, "is James coming here?"

Scorpius tensed. Al shrugged. He didn't know what or why James was coming towards them. Sure they had reconciled a few days ago but why was he here? And where was the rest of the Idiot Trio?

"Merlin, I finally found you." James said as he arrived in earshot. "This castle's massive when you're lookin' for someone, you know that?"

"What d'you want?" Al asked.

"To talk to him." James jerked his head towards the tense Scorpius.

Rose and Al stiffened, prepared.

"Look here Malfoy, I still don't trust you, alright?" James said. "But you're still friends with Al and Rose and it's got to count for something. Now don't expect me to be your friend or whatever but just remember that if you harm one hair on any of these messed-up heads, it will be the last thing you do, you got that?!"

Scorpius gulped. "Uh … yes."

"Good!" James stood up straight and smiled. "Now then, if you mind, there are exams to be revised for, a Quidditch match to practice for, and electives to chosen, and James Potter is a busy busy person so, bye-bye kids! Don't get too crazy now!"

And with that said, James Potter left the trio in shock.

"What just happened?" Rose asked.

Al smiled.

"I think James just apologised to Scor."

"Well, not that I'm not grateful," Scorpius said. "but that was the most terrifying apology I've ever received."

"Come on," Al said, slinging one arm around Rose and the other around Rose, "next match is Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

"Yes, and this time," Rose said, "the Ravenclaws will prevail!"

"Uh no, the Gryffindors will." said Al.

"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Al." Scorpius said.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You two are such boys!"

"And why, pray tell, would the Ravenclaws prevail?" asked Scorpius.

Al face-palmed as Rosie launched into a deep analysis of why the Ravenclaw Team was much better than the Gryffindors.

Al tuned her out soon, as he smiled at the direction James had left in.

_He finally had his brother back._

(About time, actually.)


	19. Reunite and Acquaint

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Al looked out the window, at the passing fields and blinked again.<p>

They were already on the Hogwarts Express, headed back home for the first time in almost a year. Time had passed by so fast. The exams had been a blur. Al and James' feud seemed like a lifetime ago. And here they were, headed back home.

Was Al _ready_ to go home though? Was he ready to face his father?

He should be — since James had constantly assured him about it, saying that Dad was fine with him being in Slytherin. But even if Dad had accepted Al as a Slytherin, what would he say about his friendship with Scorpius? Harry never said anything bad about the Malfoys, but he never said anything good either, and that was just one of the many reasons Al was terrified. What would his mother say? What would the rest of his family say?

"Al! Look!" Al turned to his cousin. "I finally found a _Jocunda Sykes_ card!"

It was the excited look on his cousin's face that Al realised that he was not about to face this alone. Rose would be there too. She wasn't in Gryffindor either. She was Scor's friend too. The thought of that did somewhat comfort Al a bit at least. Ignoring the fact that Scor was alone, Al turned his attention to Rose's hand. True to her word, Rose held in her hand a Chocolate Frog Card with the moving picture of a famous blonde witch placed above her bold, glittering name.

"Can _I _have it?"

"Are you kidding?!" Rose laughed. "This puts _me_ in the lead! Thank you Chocolate Frog Card number seven hundred and nine."

"You've got _seven hundred_ Chocolate Frog Cards?!" Scorpius asked disbelievingly. Clearly he had not heard such a large amount of collected cards before.

"That's _nothing_." Rose said as she safely tucked her seven hundred and ninth Chocolate Frog Card away from anyone, Scorpius' eyes widening in disbelief. "Hugo and Lily formed an alliance and they've got thirteen hundred or something between them. And Dad's actually got about two thousand cards all the way back from when he was our age."

"So …" Scorpius asked. "… how exactly — are you in the lead?"

Rose shrugged. "I'm farther up than Al and that's good enough for me."

Scorpius blinked.

"See how loved I am?" Al asked Scorpius sarcastically. Then, after a few seconds or so, Al's green eyes lit up like newly polished emeralds — he'd clearly just had an idea. "_Scor_, you wanna form an alliance?"

Before Scorpius could respond, Rose burst out: "You can't do that!"

"Yes I can!" said Al. "There's no rule to say I can't."

Rose growled. "Not yet there isn't."

"No way _cous_! You can't use Aunt Hermione's job to change the rules!" cried Al. "Section fourteen of the CFCC rulebook clearly states that no one is allowed to alter the constitution in any way, shape or form!"

Rose folded her arms and huffed. Al smiled smugly. She stuck her tongue out at him and Al laughed in triumph.

"You mean to say …" Scorpius said, "… that your family has an _entire constitution_ just for a _game_ of collecting Chocolate Frog Cards?"

"Yeah."

"Obviously."

Scorpius Malfoy burst out laughing. Rose and Al both gave him equally confused looks; they seemed more like siblings than cousins had it not been for the difference in physical characteristics.

"It's _not_ a game Scorpius." Rose said as-a-matter-of-factly. "It's a deadly sport of _trust_, _betrayal_, _speed_ and _chocolate consume-ability_."

"You … collect … _Chocolate Frog Cards._" Scorpius said slowly, as if she hadn't understood the concept and just how crazy it was. Sure, Al thought, if you said it like that then it sounded really messed up.

"I'd take a moment to re-think the whole Scorpius-alliance thing, Al." Rose said, "Unless you like losing."

* * *

><p>It was when Rose fell asleep that Al asked Scorpius again if he wanted to form an alliance with him.<p>

Scorpius was unsure, so Al's Slytherin persuasive skills resurfaced again.

The first job was to convince the blond. Al told Scorpius that this family-race-thing was played by Weasley family members only so far — but there was no rule stating that non-family members weren't allowed. So, if Scorpius joined in with this little competition then maybe he could win the hearts of some of the Weasleys. And Al also knew (and told) that if Scorpius could win some hearts, then he could get some Weasleys to not hate him, then try and restate his family's reputation to the Weasleys, and eventually, the wizarding world. And if that didn't work, then it would've been a fun little challenge — after all, what harm could this innocent little game bring? (Scorpius personally felt that it was using the term as loosely as possible when calling it a "harmless innocent game" and Al didn't agree with him, but he didn't disagree with him either).

Now, hearing this from anyone else would've created doubt in Scorpius mind. But this was Al and — one, Al was his best friend, and a friend in need is a friend indeed; and two, Al was a Slytherin, meaning that he had a particular knack for convincing people to agree with him (and he was only eleven!).

Next, Al explained the rules, starting with the inter-alliance rules. Firstly, all members of the alliance had the right to receive equal glory of victory. All Chocolate Frog Cards by each member of the alliance were to be added up to a total — this total would be their number. No-one in the alliance was allowed to hide any Chocolate Frog Cards — and alliance members had to stay loyal to the alliance; they weren't allowed to trade with members outside the alliance.

Then came the general rules. You couldn't have more than one of the same Chocolate Frog Card — they all had to be different to qualify. So if you came across any spares, they were added into the Book of Cards, which held all the spare cards. It was sealed with some Veritaserum-magic because you couldn't steal from the book (James had tried and failed quite a few times). Chocolate Frog Cards only qualified if the individual player, or any member of the alliance had opened and consumed the chocolatey treat by themselves. Chocolate Frog Cards were not to be traded with anyone, especially outside the alliance or outside the game itself. If any Chocolate Frog Cards were given away, as a gift or whatever, especially to people outside the game, those Cards couldn't be reclaimed for the game. Any Card collected by the player themselves since their birth, qualified — which was how Uncle Ron was so far ahead. And the last and final rule was that no-one — and absolutely _no-one_ — outside the players was to know about the game itself — this was a family secret. Scorpius was unsure about the alliance upon hearing this, but then Al said that Scorpius was already like a brother to him.

Scorpius agreed to the game but was disappointed to admit that he had always given away his Chocolate Frog Cards to Aqui — since she loved reading them. Scorpius never sent the same card over twice so he did have some spares left, which Al was glad to know.

Al also hoped that Aqui didn't join in the game or else they'd be dead — Scorpius assured him no such thing would happen because Aqui and family lived on the other side of the world.

* * *

><p>Needless to say, Rose was <em>deadly<em> peeved that the duo had actually formed an alliance.

But they'd soon forgotten about the game, as the mystery of AVOE came up again.

Scorpius felt that after the two cousins had opened so much about their own family secrets, the least he could do was tell them what the Swan-Woman's "Sis" had done. Rose had insisted that he didn't need to force himself to tell them but Scorpius silenced her saying that he wanted to, because that's what friends did. They shared things — and if he couldn't tell them this then they weren't friends.

He told them the whole story — of how when he was eight, he had seen his grandmother die; how she was murdered by a wizard. He even got to the part where he had nightmares for days, a masculine voice telling him that he wouldn't be next, as long as he didn't say anything about it. Nightmares that his father would be killed as easily as his grandmother had been; that his grandfather would be killed as easily; that his mother would be killed as easily; that he, himself would be killed as easily.

He showed them his grandmother's token; the locket she had left him with the words that it would protect him no matter where he was; how the locket was the only thing he had to remember her. He also told them how, possibly due to some hidden magical properties, sometimes, he heard her voice guiding him in times. He showed it to them, but hadn't taken it off. Because apparently, the magic of the locket had tied themselves with his essence (at least that's what his mother had said).

He spoke of the funeral — it was blurry and Scorpius didn't remember any words, just lots of solemn faces, broken spirits and a new-found tense fear everywhere he went. He spoke of how since her death, his father had grown worse tired; his father had acted in public as if nothing had happened, because no-one outside the Malfoys knew of Narcissa Malfoy's death; how his father had stopped letting Scorpius out of the house, because he was to be watched by someone at all times.

And then, before Scorpius could say how much he hated Voldemort — which he truly did, from the deepest pits of what remained of his heart; he stopped talking.

But how this all linked in with AVOE?

That day when the Swan-Lady's friend had said that it was her, but not her per se; she was talking about the identity of the murderer. And when she said they'd do it again in a heartbeat, they meant that if they had the chance to kill Narcissa Malfoy again, they wouldn't hesitate.

So whoever had killed Narcissa Malfoy, was in AVOE.

It was awfully heart-wrenching, but Scorpius, Rose and Albus agreed that if they came across anything that linked even remotely to AVOE; they'd let each other know.

* * *

><p>Harry had been waiting for ages — all the other Weasleys plus James had arrived but—<p>

There they were.

Al walked out first, then turned around to say something to someone.

Rose followed, but with the Malfoy boy by her side.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry couldn't help but stare. Lily and Hugo were too small to see anything. James grinned triumphantly as he folded his arms and watched the scene before him unfold. It was about time.

Then, Rose noticed her parents. She alerted her two companions and for a few seconds, the adults and trio stared at each other. James waved at the trio from behind Harry.

Rose, Al and Malfoy turned back to each other, having a rushed but animated discussion about something. Al reminded Malfoy of something, to which he nodded. Rose rolled her eyes, folded her arms and said something else. The two boys shared a joke and laughed as Rose seemed to fume silently.

Then, Al left, leaving Rose and Malfoy on their own. Malfoy said something (politely?) and Rose unfolded her arms as her expression softened and she said something quietly. Then, Malfoy said something else with a smile and Rose smiled back at him. She then took on a serious expression and said something firmly which erased the smile of Malfoy's face. They stared at each other for a while before Malfoy said something with what looked like a Marauder grin. Rose yelled something back at him causing him to laugh.

Rose shook her head and her smile disintegrated. She glanced back at her family before running back inside the train. And to the Potter/Weasleys' surprise, Malfoy followed her without hesitation.

* * *

><p>"<em>Rose!<em>" Scorpius called as he followed Rose into a compartment.

She sat on the floor, leaned against the seat, her head buried in her knees. Scorpius remembered this from last time, and sat down beside her.

"Hey … come on …"

"I can't Scorpius." Rose said, teary-eyed. "I don't want to. I can't — I can't do it."

"Come on, we've had this conversation before."

"But those were my _cousins_! These are my _parents!_" Rose cried. "It's different!"

"Doesn't seem that different to me." Scorpius said simply. "Besides, didn't your cousin say that she and Longbottom would stand up for you if anyone at home had a problem with you being in Gryffindor?"

Rose looked up and nodded slightly.

"Come on." Scorpius said as he took her hand and dragged her out.

* * *

><p>"Uh …" Rose stared at his grip on her hand. "Can you let go now?"<p>

"Nope."

Scorpius dragged her out to her family where Hermione rushed past and enveloped her only daughter in a bone-crushing hug. It was how her mother smelled like vanilla and felt like warm pillows and love that was one of the things that Rose had missed endlessly about her mother. It made her wonder if staying behind at Hogwarts all those times was right or not. And then it made her wonder whether or not Hermione would be proud or disappointed about Rose being in Ravenclaw.

"Oh Rosie — you're finally home!" Hermione cooed. "I missed you so much!"

"Missed … you too … Mum …"

"Apparently not enough to write back." said Hugo's voice.

Hermione let go, Rose ruffled her brother's hair and hugged her father. Ron's stern stare made Scorpius take a step back.

"Just in time, Scor!" Al then slung an arm around Scorpius. "Dad, Mum — meet my second best friend!"

"Second?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow. He then glanced at Rose and nodded. "Ah."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose demanded.

"Nothing!" the two boys chanted with a grin. Rose rolled her eyes exasperatedly at them. Were these two idiots really her best friends?

In an attempt to induce conversation, James nudged his father. Harry cleared his throat. "Well, it's nice to meet you, uh …"

"Scorpius, sir."

"Scorpius, right." Harry said. "Nice to meet you Scorpius."

Ron eyed him warily.

"Dad!" Rose cried. She then turned to Scorpius. "Just ignore him."

"Believe me: I'm trying." Scorpius mumbled.

"Hello Scorpius." Hermione shook his hand.

Scorpius could only nod.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Scorpius turned his head. "Well, I should go — Father's waiting."

Ron grumbled something that caused Hermione to nudge her husband.

Scorpius, bowed politely before heading back to his own father.

"Bye Scor!" Al said. "And don't forget anything!"

"See you next year!" Rose cried. "And thanks!"

"Remember what I said, kid!" James added.

Rose and Al turned to James with confused looks an in reply, the older boy just shrugged.

* * *

><p>Draco said nothing about what he'd just witnessed as he watched his only son approach him.<p>

Instead, Draco crouched down to his son's level and asked how Scorpius was.

Scorpius smiled and said that he couldn't wait to go back next year.

Draco had never known such joy.

* * *

><p>It was the next morning at the Burrow that Rose and Al received the shock of their lives.<p>

(Well, it wasn't that shocking in comparison to the future, but that's not really important right now.)

Rose woke up due to some unusual weight on her hand; at first she thought that maybe one of her cousins had dropped a toy or something but she woke up and screamed at the sight of the reptile. Many of her cousins, uncles and aunts rushed in, only to leave back to go to sleep. Al and James were the only ones to stay behind. Rose was leaning against the opposite wall, as far away from the little dragon as possible.

"Is that a _dragon?_" Al asked, afraid to come closer to the small but dangerous creature.

James, on the other hand, approached the dragon like it was nothing.

"See you've finally met Irwyn here." James said as the dragon climbed up James' arm and rested itself on his shoulder.

"_Why_, in Merlin's name," Rose said, "do we have a dragon?!"

"And when did we get it?!" Al added.

"Okay, firstly, _Irwyn_ does not appreciate being called _dragon_ or _it_." James petted Irwyn's head. "And secondly, Uncle Charlie says he's staying at the Burrow for the next two years. He came by during the Christmas holidays."

"And how exactly did you forget to mention that?" Rose demanded.

"Didn't forget;" James corrected. "just wanted to see you guys react to Irwyn."

"Ha ha." the two cousins chanted. "Happy now?"

James grinned. "A bit."

James then gestured Al to come over; and hesitantly, Al approached his brother quite cautiously. Rose tried hard not to squeak in fear.

"Irwyn … meet my baby brother:" Irwyn stared intently at the Slytherin. "Al."

Al nearly jumped when Irwyn jumped onto his shoulder. The boy stayed completely still.

"Calm down — he's too young to breathe fire." James assured. "Besides, if you're nervous, he won't like you."

Al took a deep breath and tried not to seem nervous as Irwyn explored Al like a mountain; from his arm to his head, to face-to-face, etc. AFter a while, Al grew quite comfortable with the dragon and his face broke into a smile, "Rosie — come on!"

Despite being profoundly more hesitant than Al, Rose still managed to make her way across the room to her cousins.

Irwyn stared at Rose for the longest time; then the dragon climbed off Al and walked towards Rose and slowly climbed up her arm and rested on her shoulders. Irwyn then nuzzled himself in the crook of her neck and with that infinitely comfortable expression on his face, Rose couldn't help but smile at him.

"Rosie, Al," James broke the silence. "meet your cousin: Irwyn Weasley."


	20. The Non-Gryffindors

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Many of the Weasley families were still gathered at the Burrow. So Al and Rose decided it would be a good use of time to tell their parents the truth now and get it out of the way. Then, fortunately, or unfortunately, at breakfast one morning, Molly Weasley good-naturedly asked her two grandchildren how their first year at Hogwarts was.<p>

Silence befell the table as everyone's gaze turned to Al and Rose.

"Well, it most _certainly_ wasn't _boring_." Rose stated, eyeing Al as she did.

"I don't know about Rosie," Al said, "but I particularly enjoyed the period between October and the Christmas holidays."

He had referred to the period in time when Rose had lost to Scorpius by half a mark and had ended up doing Al's homework for about three months.

Rose clenched her fist. "You cheated!"

"Ah, but my dear cousin," Al corrected, "how can I possibly have cheated if there were no rules to begin with?"

From under the table, Rose aimed a kick at her cousin.

"You're such a _Slytherin_, Al!"

Al and Rose suddenly silenced. James, Fred, Victoire and Dominique stopped eating and stared in some kind of intrigued-terror. Harry, who had been taking a simple sip, choked on said sip. Ron, however, had still not lost his tendency to be oblivious as he said, "Rosie dear, there's no need to call Al something so awful."

Now Rose was fine with just passing this on as a simple insult, but her genius of a cousin did not seem to agree with her.

"No, Uncle Ron …" Al said. "She's right."

"Come now Al, you two may argue but—"

Hermione held up a hand as if to silence Ron, which he did.

"Pardon, dear?" Ginny asked.

"I'm …" Al said. "… not … in Gryffindor … I'm in Slytherin, Mum."

"He jinxed it!" Fred, Rose and Dominique burst out pointing at James.

"You can't be—"

"_Ron_." Harry said firmly. He then turned to Al and asked with a smile, "Did the Hat take your choice into account?"

Al nodded silently. Rose tried to keep quiet as much as humanly possible.

"But it's not that bad!" Al cried. "And I'm not evil — _I swear_!"

James and Fred stifled laughter.

"No-one …" Harry said. "No-one said you were evil Al."

"So …" Al started. "… is … it okay …?"

"There's nothing wrong with it…" Harry said.

"… it's just a bit of a shock dear." Ginny finished.

Al sighed heavily in relief.

"Rosie, please tell me _you're_ not in Slytherin?" Ron asked — Hermione nudged him for this.

"No, Dad." Rose said. "But … I'm not in Gryffindor either."

"Rosie's a _Ravenclaw_." Al said proudly.

There was silence on the table for the longest time. Rosie bit her lip — like she did whenever she was nervous.

Then, Ron's face beamed with the utmost pride and joy, "That's my girl! See Hermione, I told you she was smarter than you!"

Smiles broke out on the breakfast table and Hermione smiled.

"Indeed she is, Ron."

Rose tried to stop smiling but the relief and happiness inside of her were growing faster than her mother's collection of books.

Secretly though, Al gave Rose a kind of _Scor owes you an 'I told you so' _look.

And for the first time since she had met the boy, Rose was glad that Scorpius was right.

* * *

><p>In all honesty, Harry didn't know what to make of Al being in Slytherin.<p>

Sure, James had told him about Al being in Slytherin but something about hearing those words come out of Al himself was different.

Harry wasn't disappointed in Al whatsoever — in fact he was proud that Al had not let Ron and George's stereotypical stories get in the way of his time at Hogwarts. He was proud, because he knew that Slytherin had gained a wonderful new wizard. He was proud, because Al made the decision Harry couldn't — Slytherin over Gryffindor.

Harry was well aware that people would expect great things from Al — if Harry and the Weasleys had tried to forget about the war didn't necessarily mean that everyone else did too. People at Hogwarts would expect much of Al and the fact that he was basically a clone of Harry didn't really help Al's chances at finding himself.

After all, who better than Harry to know how it felt to have so much expected of you?

But Harry knew his son better than anyone — and he knew (even if Al didn't) that Al was more than capable of bypassing any and every expectation thrown at him. Harry had raised Al and so he knew that Al was very persevering in his daily life, he just didn't have the confidence for it. Hopefully, Slytherin House and Al's friends and cousins would help him grow in that aspect.

Still, it bothered Harry — why had Al chosen Slytherin over Gryffindor?

Who knows, maybe James _did _jinx it.

"Dad!"

Harry looked up to see Al staring back at him, with Lily's eyes.

"Oh, um, Al — need anything?" Harry asked.

Al stared up at his father, at the very same green eyes he himself had. Honestly, Al wanted to ask his father so much, was he really okay with being in Slytherin? Did _he_ know anything about Cho Chang? What ever happened to the DA? Would he be okay with Scorpius as one of Al's best friends? What did Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape do to make Harry name Al after them? How come he never told them about Voldemort? Why did he never take them to the annual May Memorial?

"Al!" Rose called from afar, "Come on!"

Neither Al nor Harry broke eye contact — then, Al smile and shrugged.

"Nothing."

He then ran off to join Rose and his cousins.

* * *

><p>Needless to say, the Weasleys and Potters were taking the non-Gryffindor news remarkably well.<p>

Harry wasn't disappointed in the slightest, if anything, he seemed to radiate a glow of pride. But that didn't mean that he treated Al any differently. Harry was glad that Al had chosen Slytherin, because Harry didn't doubt Al and so he believed that his son would be very crucial in helping change peoples' opinions of Slytherin.

Ginny, although uncomfortable, trusted her son enough to rise above the prejudices she had been raised with and become a wonderful Slytherin. He was her boy too, after all. Still, it would take a while for her to accept that her son was not in Gryffindor.

Ron seemed to strut everywhere he went, with his head held high, and a never-faltering smile. He had never been more proud of his little Rosie and the joy that filled him inside could not be contained. He remembered how pressured he was about going into Gryffindor and the fact that his daughter had broken this tradition meant that not all Weasleys were Gryffindors; and for that, he couldn't be happier. It was Ron's dream to be from the Weasleys and not be treated differently based on whether or not you were in Gryffindor. His Rosie was in Ravenclaw and he couldn't be happier.

Hermione was proud (albeit not more than Ron) to mother the first Ravenclaw Weasley. She always knew her daughter was special mind-wise and for her to be in Ravenclaw was amazing. Hermione sometimes wondered what her life would have been like if she been in Ravenclaw (of course not befriending Ron or Harry would be a downside) and not Gryffindor. She wondered what exciting new adventures Ravenclaw held and for Rosie to be in Ravenclaw was like a dream come true. Hermione did feel guilty wondering if the reason Rosie had not come during Christmas or Easter was because Rosie was scared of disinheritance.

Rosie Weasley would make a wonderfully remarkable woman of a witch and Hermione could not be convinced otherwise.

Ron and Hermione were infinitely proud of their daughter already, but it was their nephew they worried for. Even if their worry was insignificantly miniscule, it was still there.

Like Harry, Hermione had been more open minded than Ron about the prejudices of Slytherin fading. As one of his best friends, Hermione knew that Harry had wanted to clear Slytherin from its prejudices, the prejudices that had raised during Voldemort's time. However, Harry was more comfortable with Al being in Slytherin than Hermione, probably because he had been offered in the same House. Hermione, who although didn't have this experience, still believed in her nephew.

Al had been raised by the Potters and the Weasleys — he was a Potter, and he was a Weasley.

Which meant he harboured the one most strongest weapon of all time — the weapon that had protected Harry for most of his life, and the weapon that was the key to defeating Voldemort— _l__ove._

Al had love to protect and guide him, love from his parents, his siblings, his aunts, uncles and cousins, his grandparents, his friends — Al had the love of many more people than Hermione had at his age. And that was good, because Al could take this love and use it to heal the Slytherin name. Hermione wondered if Al knew that his being in Slytherin meant that he also harboured the responsibility of healing the Slytherin name.

Did Al know?

That as Harry Potter's son, he had been handed the role of upholding his father's legacy; the role of healing the world in the aftermath of the war his father had won. And did Al know that he had willingly taken this role by choosing to be placed in Slytherin?

She guessed he did, because although the Weasley-Potter family had tried their absolute best to cover up their history, there were children at Hogwarts whose parents had not taken the same decision, and there were teachers as well, who spoke of the war like it was a legend. There were also portraits at Hogwarts, who had seen the legend be carved and made, and were now witnessing the next generation. So obviously at least one, if not each of these groups would have made at least some comment about the history that was meant to be a secret.

And it was not only this logic, but the way that Al sometimes glanced at the adults, with a kind of questioning look. As if he was trying to perceive them in a new light. He often stared when he thought when Harry wasn't looking, with a face that was all too familiar to Hermione: it held an assortment of questions he was aching to ask.

But he never did, and for that, Hermione felt unusually relieved.

Ron, on the other hand, (after a long talk with Harry and Hermione) instead pretended he knew nothing of Al's Housing. He treated Al no differently but only because Hermione was his best friend, lover and wife, did she see that sometimes he struggled to do so. Hermione felt that Ron was surprisingly good at hiding his uncertainty, but then she guessed it must have been a skill he grew for his job as an Auror.

* * *

><p>Rose had been profoundly brighter than she had been for the whole of the Hogwarts year. In fact, Al became wary whenever he came near her in fear that she would lose it and break into a musical number about how happy and relieved she was.<p>

Of course, Al was happy to get his best friend and cousin back. Since the Sorting, the twinkle in her eyes had faded profoundly, although Al would be the only one to notice this, as he was the one who spent the most time with her. Rosie had still been Rosie, but she had been a twinkle-less Rosie. Scorpius had never seen the real Rosie, the Rosie who had a twinkle in her eyes, and that was kind of saddening, but at the same time, good. When they'd go back next year, Scorpius would see that his friend was much happier in reality.

But obviously, Al didn't tell Rosie any of this.

* * *

><p>Rosie, in herself, was relieved for many reasons.<p>

The topmost reason being the acceptance she received about her Housing. Others included the Potter brothers' reconciliation, seeing her family, and finding out that Irwyn would actually _not_ breathe fire (James had already told her so back when she first met Irwyn but after his history, Rosie was not going to believe him without evidence).

Looking back, Rosie found she had worried endlessly for an entire school year, ten whole months about where she'd go after being disinherited. Now, she couldn't believe she had spent so long worrying about something so stupid. Her father would never disinherit her, because even if he did, her mother would stick up for her and probably not talk to her husband ever again (but that was how her parents worked). And her maternal grandmother would be the same, if not worse.

Why would he disinherit her? Sure she wasn't in Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw wasn't worse, was it? Why would she be disinherited for being in Ravenclaw, House of the witty, clever and curious, where she could further nurture her intelligence? The intelligence that her father was so proud she had inherited?

It was at this thought that Rose realised it would probably be worse for her if she had been placed in Gryffindor, House of the brave, chivalrous and daring instead of the House that would help her nurture her inherited, much-valued, seemingly-rare intelligence.

The second reason she had been relieved was seeing James and Al back to their normal selves.

James had made it absolutely clear that he was not going to make any effort to Scorpius, but it was enough for Al, Rosie and even Scorpius himself.

Because to be honest, seeing how James had reacted about their friendship with Scorpius had scared Rose and only raised her worry and fear of facing her family. James was the most easy-going, laid-back member of the whole Weasley-Potter clan. So when she saw that he refused to acknowledge her existence for being Scorpius' friend, it only made her wonder and fear what the rest of her family would do. She had never been more scared of her family than she was during the time of James and Al's feud.

Rose watched on as Al and James laughed together about something and sighed with all the relief inside her.

Another reason Rose was relieved was upon the sight of her family. It may not make much sense if she told someone else, but she had her reasons.

After the Swan Woman, the Thestral and learning about the war that her family had been in the middle of, Rose wanted too badly to see her family, to confirm with her own eyes that they all had sincerely survived.

And when she came home, everything became clear. The world around her became much sharper, like when her maternal grandparents' magic box — the television? — was turned to higher quality — HQ? HD?

Rose saw the relief behind her mother's smile, she felt the bruises on her father's arms, and saw the scars on her grandparents. She saw the weary tiredness in the eyes of all her uncles, aunts and parents. But this weary tiredness was most profound in her uncle, and Rose was amazed to know why. And although it just wasn't possible to look at Uncle Harry without imagining him younger and defeating the most evil wizard of all time, it was still remarkably cool.

Looking around at dinnertime, Rose couldn't believe that they had all survived a war. It was only now that Rose wondered what her Uncle Fred was like. Would he pick on her like Uncle George did too? Would they both be running the joke shop together? But then again, would her cousins exist? What would Fred be named? Would he even be in existence? Rose strayed her mind from such thoughts.

The Thestral, the Forest, the woman, it all seemed a lifetime away. Like a parallel universe. She wondered if this was how her war-surviving family members felt. It was also kind of curious and exciting to know that soon they'd go back to the ancient magic castle, where they had made a friend, encountered a Thestral, found about AVOE, and met a scarred woman.

When her mother noticed her daydreaming and asked if she was okay, Rose wanted nothing more than to ask her mother if she was okay. She refrained from doing so, but it was still hard.

See, if either Rose or Al let it slip that they knew about the war, then the rest of their cousins would know too — and that would only wreak havoc. Plus, if that happened, then they'd have no choice to ask their fathers about AVOE which would be a disaster in itself. One, it would mean they'd have to spill about the Thestral. And two, knowing their parents, they'd be banned from mentioning AVOE again as Uncle Harry and Dad went out and tried to find AVOE on their own, and they probably wouldn't be allowed to speak to Scorpius ever again.

None of which they could afford to let happen. Not only would it break their friendship, but it would also take away their adventure. Everyone at Hogwarts had their own adventure, and it was all different, varying from finding themselves, learning about the magical side of the world, and saving the world. And although Rose hated to admit, AVOE just happened to be her, Al and Scorpius' adventure.

Still, Rose was determined to find out about AVOE, no matter what it took. She'd spend her whole summer searching, if that's what it'd take.

But right now, like her father and brother would say, there was food to be eaten.

(Al didn't call her out on this because they both knew if he did, she'd beat the living daylights out of him. He had enough experience and sense to know so anyway.)


	21. Summer: Part I

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

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><p>Look! An update! And just not any update — the first update of 2014!<p>

And it's in April … whoops, hehe.

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><p>Summer at the Burrow was something Rose missed dearly. Due to her mother being Muggle-born, both herself and Hugo were sent to Muggle primary school so as she had been used to it, Rose had grown to love and appreciate the feeling of summer at the Burrow after a long year of school more than any of her cousins.<p>

The summer routine was one of Rose Weasley's favourite routines. She loved waking up every morning in her home to be greeted by the sun. She loved seeing her father and mother playfully bicker in the morning as Hugo stole their share of breakfast without either of them noticing. She loved going to the Burrow and meeting with all her cousins, and spending the day with them, no matter what it was they did. Whether it was play some Quidditch (after riding the invisible creature, Rose insisted on simply watching), or just lay on the fresh grass under the warm sun, it was never disappointing.

And Rose was looking forward to this summer in particular because this would be her first ever summer back from Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>The first thing that Rose, Hugo, Ron and Hermione did as part of the summer holidays was go visit the Grangers. Because obviously you can't just spend your entire summer at the house of one set of grandparents, now could you?<p>

Besides, Rosie would be the first (and only) granddaughter to go to Hogwarts, and her Muggle grandparents would want to know what House their favoutite granddaughter was placed into.

Hermione had already assured Rose that her maternal grandparents will be more than proud of her. However, Rose still couldn't shake off her nervousness. At this point in the summer holidays (it had been three days) Rose just wanted to go back to Hogwarts where she wouldn't have to deal with the nervousness of owning up to every single one of her countless relatives that she just wasn't brave enough for Gryffindor.

Even though Rose would never admit it to Al — she kind of missed being back at school with him and Scorpius; trying to figure out the story behind AVOE. Where it was just them three — brought together by their mutual understanding of what it is like to not make it to the House you were expected to be in.

Rose missed her friends. It had only been a year, yet the girls from Rosie's dorm had all established a blooming friendship. For now, they were almost friends, rather than friends. Rose missed her classes. She missed the thrill of trying to do her homework to the best and fastest of her ability. Rose missed her uniform. She missed the feeling of getting up every morning and putting on her beautiful blue Ravenclaw tie.

And although summer back at home was no match, Rose felt it couldn't have been any better.

"Rosie!" Rose's Muggle grandmother gave her a tight hug. "How was Hogwarts?"

"Great! — actually." Rose replied. "It was much better than I thought it would be! There's so much to do and learn — I'm scared seven years won't be enough for it all!"

Her grandparents laughed, commenting on how Hermione had said pretty much the same thing in her first summer back from the magic castle.

"Don't worry dear, I'm sure seven years will be more than enough for you to enjoy Hogwarts as much as possible!" her grandmother assured cheerfully.

"But don't forget about your brother," her grandfather cut in, "he's going to need a guiding light when he gets there. Isn't that right Hugo?"

"There's still another whole year left!" Hugo complained.

Hermione ruffled Hugo's hair.

"Don't worry dear," Hermione assured. "this year will fly by just as fast."

"Just like the last." Hermione's mum smiled nostalgically, "I can't believe Rosie's already finished a whole year at Hogwarts."

Rose bit her lip, not liking being in the spotlight.

Hugo sighed, emphasising at his impatience for this year to _fly by_ already.

"Look on the bright side, kiddo!" their grandfather encouraged with a smile.

"Yeah, I mean this way," Ron joined in, "you get to spend more time with Irwyn than your sister."

Hugo's face lit up.

As Ron's tactic had worked, Rose decided it would be better if she didn't mention her relief at being wary of the dragon.

(After the Thestral, Rose had become quite wary of all magical creatures.)

"And I won't see Rosie when I'm in Gryffindor!" Hugo teased his sister.

Rose stuck her tongue out at her brother, momentarily forgetting the truth behind her brother's words.

"What do you mean by that?" Rose's grandmother's confused face snapped her back to reality.

Hugo silenced, realising what he'd just said.

"Um … " Rose didn't actually know what to do, but after a year of stressing over this, she decided enough was enough and that it was time to just get over it, "I'm not in Gryffindor."

She looked her grandparents in the eye, searching for approval.

"I'm in Ravenclaw."

Hermione and Ron smiled. Hugo rolled his eyes.

The Grangers said nothing.

But then they proceeded to give Rosie the warmest congratulations she had ever received from them.

* * *

><p>An early summer evening in the living room of the Burrow was quite crowded but not hectic. Most of the family had gathered to sit in and just have a nice long talk of their plans for the summer and next school year, as well reminiscent on the past years.<p>

The Weasley grandparents were present. As were Victoire, Teddy, Dominique, Alice, Frank and Neville. Fred, James and Lorcan had decieded to join in due to Angelina and Lysander's "persuasion". Rose, Hugo, Lily, Al, Ginny and Ron were also present. Percy, Audrey, Lucy, Molly and Roxanne too had managed to squeeze in.

Bill and Louis had gone to Shell Cottage to help Fleur pack to leave for France. Later in the summer, Bill and his three children would join Fleur in France. Hannah had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron; just because it was summer, didn't mean Hannah's job had stopped. George had still not come back from his shop for the day. Luna and Rolf would be arriving from their most recent expedition within the next few days. Harry had disappeared due to an emergency, and Hermione had joined him after, at his request.

Rose and Al just hoped it wasn't another Auror expedition. Although both Harry and Hermione had survived the war, both cousins preferred knowing where their parents were at all times, after meeting the Swan and her colleague "Sis". And AVOE.

Rose found it slightly amusing that Dominique was slowly drifting off to sleep. Rose sympathised with her; the most recent topic of discussion had been Victoire. Because as this had been Al and Rose's first year at Hogwarts, it had also been Victoire's last. Molly I was quite excited to know what her first granddaughter was going to do now. And then she saddened commenting on how the first granddaughter had already finished school and Rose and Al had already started school and everyone was growing up way too fast. Lucy then promised that she was never going to grow up and Molly stopped crying and hugged her instead.

Then, their grandmother smiled and asked Alice what electives she had taken for her third year.

Alice answered Care of Magical Creatures almost instantly. After everyone had finished laughing, she added Ancient Runes, which she found exciting because it made her feel like she was decoding something she shouldn't be. No one said it, but everyone in the room believed that was the most Marauder answer given.

Then Molly asked her second granddaughter, Dominique, what she had taken.

But at this point, Dominique was fast asleep. Alice nudged her, but she wouldn't wake.

"Why's she so sleepy?" Ginny asked kind-heartedly.

With another nudge, Dominique reawakened, but she still seemed exhausted. She rubbed her eye when Victoire, who was seated next to Teddy, spoke up.

"Domi, go upstairs and call it a night."

Alice agreed.

Victoire and Alice seemed concerned for Dominique, who refused to go upstairs.

"Well, you don't get to choose. Come on, you've been like this for two days now." Alice then proceeded to sling one of Domi's arms around her shoulders and stand up both of them. "A little help would be nice!"

Without a word, Lysander appeared at Domi's other side and the trio headed upstairs, slowly.

Rose considered that a smart move on Lysander's part, as he had previously occupied the seat closest to the Idiot Trio.

"Did something happen?"

"I took Ally and Domi to Diagon Alley last week." Victoire spoke up. "They played with some stuff at Uncle George's shop and I don't know. Domi's been like that since she left the shop."

"Maybe she had a prototype." Fred offered. "Did they go to the back of the shop?"

Victoire gave a small, hesitant nod. "I think so."

"I hope she gets better." Angelina voiced. "I've told George a thousand times not to keep prototypes in the shop."

The mood became heavy. With what, Rose didn't know. But she guessed that it had something to do with Uncle Fred and his death.

Roxanne cheered everyone up.

"I can't believe we're finally going to Hogwarts next year!"

Molly II and Frank II agreed.

"Oh yes, of course! How could I forget!" Molly I exclaimed.

"I can't wait to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!" Roxanne added.

"Uh, Roxanne," Al butt in, "I hate to break it to you, but you can't do that until second year."

"And if you do make the team," Lily added, "you'll be stuck with James as your captain. And Lorcan as vice-captain. That means you'll be under the control of two-thirds of the Idiot Trio."

"Hey, I resent that." James argued. "We keep _all_ our 'Idiot Trio' business away from Quidditch. I don't know if you remember, but ever since I—"

"_… joined the Gryffindor Quidditch Team,_" the entire living room chanted, "_Gryffindor hasn't lost a single match_."

"Yes James," Ginny said. "we remember quite clearly."

James pretended not to hear her. Instead, he turned to Roxanne and asked her what position she'd be trying for. Roxanne answered and that was when the Idiot Trio turned into her Quidditch mentors, giving her advice already and promising her training all summer.

"What about you, Molly?" Audrey asked her daughter.

"Molls is a Ravenclaw, no doubt!" Rose exclaimed, remembering how Molly and herself spent their childhood sharing books. Rose was also hoping she would not be the only Weasley in Ravenclaw.

"Well, who knows," Percy cut in, "maybe she's a Gryffindor too."

"You're getting this all wrong." Al corrected. He turned to Molly. "What do you _want _to be, Molls?"

"I guess I want to be Gryffindor," Molly put a finger to her chin, thinking about it, "but Ravenclaw doesn't seem so bad."

"Well, if Al of all people can make Slytherin," James rejoined, "then you can make Ravenclaw if you want, Molls."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Al asked his brother warily.

"Whatever you want it to mean." James replied almost instantly.

Al and James shared a staring competition, and Al lost by sticking his tongue out at James. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Al, your maturity surprises me, even to this day." Rose told her cousin as sarcastically as possible.

"What about you, Frank?" Molls asked the youngest Longbottom.

Frank kept his gaze to the ground.

"I don't know." he said quietly.

"Any House in particular?" Neville asked kindly. "Doesn't have to be Gryffindor."

"I don't mind any way," Frank finally answered. "But it would be nice to be in Gryffindor."

Neville gave his son an encouraging pat on the back.

* * *

><p>Looking back on it, neither Rose nor Al would have traded that summer for anything in the world.<p>

Although the first week of summer was not very exciting, the rest of the summer was more hectic than all of their first-year at Hogwarts put together, which was a pretty big thing to say.

True to their word, James, Fred and Lorcan stopped all their pranks and family Quidditch games and focused on training Roxanne almost every day for the summer. Their training sessions would start at dawn, have breakfast with the family as a break and then carry on till noon, when they had lunch.

As the days of Quidditch training went on, James, Fred and Lorcan began to take under their wing anyone else who wished to join. Lily was the first to sign up. And although both were already on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, Ally and Domi joined in too. Of course James had coaxed them into it, saying that the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had to be the absolute best, even the reserves. As well as all this, Ginny had put on her no-nonsense this-is-Quidditch jeans, ponytail and began supervising the Weasley Quidditch training.

Rose stayed out of their way for more reasons than one. Her fear of flying was still quite prominent, so much that she couldn't even walk by a broom by herself. Instead, Rose focused on studying for her second year at Hogwarts, and sometimes even getting Al to join her. Molly stayed by Rose's side, eager to watch and learn from her Ravenclaw cousin. And although Uncle Percy and Aunt Hermione were Gryffindors, they both joined in these study sessions as well.

The Weasley children spent their summer playing a huge variety of games. Quidditch training was a game in itself and their family game of collecting Chocolate Frog Cards was also still on going. But there was another game all the children loved playing: _Aurors_.

Basically, the Weasley children split themselves up into Aurors and Criminals. It was like hide and seek except everyone had twigs as wands and they re-enacted great stories that Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry told them about. The Criminals went out and hid in different parts of the field, the Burrow and Grandad Weasley's shed whilst the Aurors went around searching for them, duelling when they found one and brought them back to the Burrow where they were detained in the kitchen.

It was a fun game, but after Scorpius had told them the story of the war, Rose and Al found a new meaning in the game. And it just didn't feel right making a child's game out of such a serious job. Especially since Aurors still recruited Death Eaters as well, their fathers included.

Rose excused herself to go study and Al just said he didn't feel like playing.

Harry and Hermione were not the only adults to notice this change within their children, but they chose not to say anything.

In the duration of the game _Aurors_, Rose and Al turned their attention to bond with their most recent cousin Irwyn.

Rose was quite vary of Irwyn, but slowly, she overcame her fear. The Thestral had been full grown and out to hurt her, but Irwyn was small and cute.

* * *

><p>Other events over the summer included a trip to Diagon Alley.<p>

Rose and Al went to buy their second-year textbooks and supplies with Ginny and Ron. Domi, Ally, Lysander and the Idiot Trio went for their fourth-year supplies and textbooks with Teddy and Victoire. Roxanne, Molly and Frank went with Neville and Audrey for their first-year textbooks and supplies.

Over the summer, there were some surprises too.

For instance, in the trip to Diagon Alley, Rose, Al, Ron and Ginny ran into Scorpius and Draco.

Although the adults pretended they didn't see the other group, Rose and Al had other ideas. They chatted animatedly with Scorpius, trying to give him brief updates of the summer as soon as possible, whilst telling him they couldn't wait for September. Before Scorpius was given a chance to reply though, Draco led his son away from his friends.

* * *

><p>And then there was the surprise that occurred away from the Diagon Alley trip.<p>

Al, James and Lily were told by their mother that their father had been visiting his Muggle relatives. It was through their mother the Potter siblings learned that their suspicions of many years had been confirmed: their second cousin Lucas Dursley had received his Hogwarts letter.

This arose many complications. Because from only one brief visit, the Potter siblings came to know of Great-Uncle Vernon's hatred for anything magical. They also heard of Great-Aunt Petnuia's dislike for Muggle-borns. But they also knew how excited Lucas and Tristan got over Hogwarts. And there was still the possibility that Tristan wouldn't be accepted. Al and James knew personally how strongly Hogwarts could affect the strong bond of brothers, and they didn't want Lucas and Tristan to go through that.

But in all honesty, none of them knew what they really wanted for Lucas and Tristan. It was ironic, they always had secret discussions about Lucas coming to Hogwarts, but now that there was a chance he really might, they didn't even know how to react.

All three of them had uncountable questions, but said nothing. Between the siblings, they decided that they would find out for themselves on September 1st whether or not Lucas was coming to Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, or fortunately, neither Al nor Rose found anything that would help them about AVOE.<p>

From his all-too-brief letters, they found that Scorpius hadn't found anything either.

Or if he had, he hadn't told them, as Al had concluded. This earned him a strong punch from Rose.

Al had told Scorpius practically everything, from his urge to play Quidditch next year, to getting ahead of Rosie in the Chocolate Frog Collection Competition (CFCC). He didn't forget to mention their uncontainable joy at his family's acceptance to Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Rose didn't write as much, but she did write to Scorpius, thanking him for assuring her that being in Ravenclaw was okay. She also expressed some of her hope for more Ravenclaw Weasleys in the future.

What they found about their best friend, was that he didn't write very much. And if he did, he was always straightforward and clear. His letters were significantly briefer than Rose or Al's, and they took it to be just another tendency of the Malfoy.

Scorpius had told them how his father had not been disappointed in his Housing, and that relived Rose and Al more than they'd like to admit.

But that was it, he didn't mention anything else.

After the past year, they knew not to pester him; Rose and Al respected this choice of Scorpius'.

However, later on they would find, that what Scorpius had chosen to keep from them, would be more important for their awaiting adventure than most.


	22. Summer: Part II

**A****/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

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><p>Here's another chapter because let's face it; I really owe it to you guys.<p>

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><p>Due to being in Rose and Al's company over his time at Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy had temporarily forgotten just how lonely it was back at home. He had also forgotten why he was so reluctant to count himself as a friend of Rose and Al.<p>

It had been a hectic goodbye on the platform. But soon after, Scorpius fell back into his routine.

The routine he had grown up with — where he was not Scor, but Scorpius: the Malfoy heir. Existing without talking, and only talking when spoken to.

The first night back at Malfoy Manor, Scorpius couldn't sleep.

His mother had sent him off to bed without pestering him with questions about Hogwarts, so he could replenish his energy for tomorrow. He knew just as well as her that she would strike him early at breakfast the next day. And in all honesty, Scorpius wasn't the least bit prepared. No matter how much he convinced himself it would be alright, likely chances were, it was _not _going to be alright at all.

Grandfather was also coming for the summer, just in time for tomorrow's breakfast, so Scorpius was as good as dead.

Knowing that if he stayed up all night, he'd be a wreck for breakfast. He couldn't add his lack of sleep on top of the bad— _horrendously unacceptable_ news he was going to have to present tomorrow. So Scorpius slept, praying tomorrow never came.

* * *

><p>Much to his chagrin, tomorrow <em>did<em> come.

And Scorpius wanted Rose or someone to smack him — he could _not_ stop shaking. He knew he was nervous but as a Malfoy he couldn't let that show, _especially_ not in the presence of Malfoys.

Nevertheless, Scorpius took a deep breath and headed down for breakfast.

At the breakfast table, Scorpius had forgotten being under his Grandfather's stern gaze, his father's solemn expression and his mother's indifferent aura. Although others might cower under such faces, Scorpius was glad to be home.

But then he remembered his red tie and friendship with Al and Rose and all love for home went out the window. If there was one place Scorpius wanted to be right now, it would be anywhere but here.

"It's good to have you back home Scorpius." His mother finally broke the silence. "We missed you."

Scorpius smiled back at her.

"I missed you too, Mother."

Scorpius then waited for the questions to begin.

Nothing happened.

Draco said nothing, and neither did Lucius.

Astoria pretended this was normal.

Scorpius remained confused.

He sat through the entire meal with hearing neither Draco's nor Lucius' voice.

After breakfast, Scorpius contemplated whether or not he should ask his mother what was wrong with the two men. He decided not to due to the risk of the topic drifting to Hogwarts.

So Scorpius spent his first week just observing his father and grandfather, not knowing what had happened in his absence. Scorpius had come to the conclusion that they had had a disagreement of sorts because although they both spoke to Astoria and himself individually, they didn't so much as glance at each other.

* * *

><p>And then came the end of Scorpius' safety. His mother had just summoned him in the presence of all three adults, because she felt it was high time he told them of their adventures at Hogwarts as a first-year.<p>

Scorpius tried quite hard to keep his solemn Malfoy demeanour intact.

When he finally arrived, he guessed that neither Draco nor Lucius had made up as they both sat as far away as possible from each other. And he also came to the realisation that his mother was using him so she could try to instil a conversation between the two Malfoys. And although Scorpius would have liked his father and grandfather to make up, he did not want to be the reason they came together to disinherit him.

"So," Astoria began, "how was Slytherin?"

If Scorpius ran non-stop for about seventy seconds, (give or take) he could probably make it out of the building. The door was right there.

Right there, waiting for him to make his escape.

"I don't know," Scorpius said.

He now had both Draco and Lucius' attention.

Astoria gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean by that?"

However, if he ran for the window, it would take him twenty seconds. The window was practically in his grasp. And he'd be taking the back way, through the garden. Scorpius could still fit in between those thorny bushes and hedges, but Draco, Lucius or Astoria had no hope of even trying. The back hedges were charmed as well, to keep away anyone unwanted. So none of them could whip out their wand and drag him out. And no-one knew where that path led. All he had to do was get past the hedges and he was safe.

It was the perfect escape.

"I— I'm—" Great, so now he was stuttering. Just another way to disgrace his family name.

Scorpius cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"I'm not in Slytherin." he said simply.

All three adults looked at him as if he was trying to get a reaction out of them, and they were not in the mood.

"Scorpius." Astoria was deadly serious. "I will not have my only son sprouting this ridiculously unnecessary nonsense."

"Mother," Scorpius replied, ignoring the sudden burst of Godric's inherited courage. "it's not nonsense. It's the truth."

None of the three adults seemed to believe him. Instead, they stared at him, waiting for him to come clean and say it was a joke.

But he never did, as Malfoys were never ones to joke. Though being friends with Al make Scorpius wish they did.

"Scorpius." Draco called, in that tone of voice that said _enough was enough_.

Scorpius merely shook his head, saying that he wasn't lying.

"I'm sorry." was all Scorpius said.

A tense silence ensued as Draco stared down at his son with a stern gaze, which Scorpius didn't back down, proving his honesty.

Finally, Draco broke the silence.

"You're not in Slytherin."

Scorpius said nothing, as a silent agreement.

"But—" Astoria found her voice. "If not Slytherin, then wh—"

"Gryffindor." Scorpius said loud and clear, in case his unexpected Gryffindor courage decided to leave him.

If possible, the silence grew tenser.

"I beg your pardon?" Astoria asked, looking as if she hadn't heard correctly.

"Gryffindor?" Draco asked questioningly, asking with his grey eyes whether Scorpius was telling the truth.

"Gryffindor." Scorpius repeated, but in an affirming tone.

He thought Grandfather muttered something under his breath, but Scorpius pretended he didn't catch the words.

Astoria remained speechless and stared at her son in disbelief.

Lucius said nothing, but stared at Scorpius at what the boy found to be a disapproving, judgemental gaze.

Draco however, was silent. But not the speechless or judgemental silence, it was a calm indifferent kind of silence. His grey eyes never left Scorpius, yet at the same time, held no resentment or pride. They were void of emotion, like Draco had learned to make them. Due to the Malfoy name receiving such negative attention, Draco had mastered his ability to hide his emotions, even more so than Professor Snape, as his mother had said once.

Yes, Mother and Grandfather were important, but due to numerous unspoken reasons, it was Draco's reaction that mattered the most to Scorpius.

Mother was surprised, and Grandfather was disappointed. That much, Scorpius had concluded successfully. But he knew nothing of his father's thoughts, nor could he tell.

And that worried Scorpius indubitably.

"I'm sorry Father." Scorpius blurted out.

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Lucius, Astoria and Scorpius all turned to face Draco in surprise.

"If the Sorting Hat believes Gryffindor is where you belong," Draco explained, "then a brave wizard is who you are. You need not apologise for being yourself, Scorpius."

No-one said anything.

Scorpius blinked hard, trying to maintain his Malfoy demeanour.

However, the same could not be said for Lucius, when he let out a somewhat disapproving noise.

"Problem, Father?" Draco questioned challengingly.

Scorpius saw his mother's urge to leave their presence immediately. Yes, Father and Grandfather had some disagreements, but this was the first time Scorpius had seen both of them with such a resilient and long-lasting ignorance of each other.

He wondered what had happened between them over the summer, as evidently he wouldn't be told.

Save for the war story, Scorpius was never told the important things, that which truly mattered: the details.

So Scorpius had also felt Al's frustration at being kept in the dark, even when the latter didn't believe him.

"I simply don't understand why Scorpius," Lucius explained cautiously, as if each word was a fragile glass, "has suddenly shown a lack of ability to maintain his Malfoy dignity."

"My son lacks nothing." Draco spat harshly. "Slytherin has nothing to do with Malfoy dignity."

Lucius stood up.

"It seems you have softened, Draco."

Draco stood up as well.

"And it seems you have still learned nothing, Father." Draco paused, as if contemplating whether or not to carry on. "Not even after …"

Draco's voice faded.

No-one needed to hear the rest of the sentence anyway. It was still vivid in their heads and heavy on their hearts: Narcissa's death.

Lucius said nothing; he simply stormed out of the room.

Draco DisApparated.

Scorpius and Astoria maintained the silence.

"I hope they reconcile soon." Scorpius voiced.

"Oh Scorpius," Astoria said, as she stared longingly into nothingness, "that may be harder than you assume."

"I believe, Mother." Scorpius replied, causing his mother to look up at him. "After all, Father and Grandfather have not survived a war together for nothing."

* * *

><p>Scorpius was glad to find that even though his Grandfather and Father had not reconciled, he was still able to enjoy his summer.<p>

For one, his father had clearly stated that he was not disappointed at having a Gryffindor son. His mother had also smiled at him, saying that her son was her son, no matter what House he was in.

Secondly, when Scorpius had talked about his friends, Draco only told Scorpius to be careful. He didn't say why or when. His mother didn't have anything against the Potter-Weasley clan, so she was more accepting of his friendships (actually she had just been satisfied enough with the fact that her son was not going to spend the next six years at that castle alone).

Scorpius had seen Lucius overhear about his choice in friends and noticed that his Grandfather had started treating him the same way he was treating his own son.

Scorpius hadn't let any of the residents of Malfoy Manor know about AVOE. But it wasn't difficult at all, Scorpius had already managed to keep many secrets through his short life. The bullies at Hogwarts, how he _knew_ it to be factual that Grandmother was brutally murdered, and the nightmares that followed her death.

Besides, he hadn't found anything else regarding AVOE anyway. And the letters he received told him that Al and Rose hadn't either.

For this, Scorpius didn't know if he was grateful (that their activity had apparently diminished), or if he was worried (that they had bettered their ability to conceal their activity, or that he wasn't paying enough attention). It also put a dampen on his spirits a bit, because it reminded him that no matter how resilient the three of them were, AVOE was full of ruthless, full-fledged wizards and witches who had survived a war, and they were just children. They could kill other people and tame Thestrals. What were him, Rose and Al in comparison?

Scorpius strayed his mind from such thoughts. Due to his family history, Scorpius was quite vulnerable and prone to the darkness. And Scorpius knew this all too well.

So he chose to stay as far away from it as possible, and Draco had also tried hard to keep them away from it.

Instead, Scorpius turned his thoughts to a few days back, when he and his father had run into Rose and Albus at Diagon Alley.

* * *

><p>In all honesty, Scorpius should probably have expected that he would run into them at Diagon Alley.<p>

But really, they just popped up in front of him out of thin air.

It had been mid-August when Draco decided that he couldn't stand staying in the same building as his father. He had told Astoria this and summoned Scorpius, telling him that it was high time they went out and purchased his Hogwarts supplies for next year. Other than that, Draco said nothing; and Scorpius knew better than to disagree.

As soon as they were in the view of other wizards and witches, Scorpius regained the same calm indifference that his father radiated. Neither of them said anything, a habit of theirs. (It was enough the other occupants of the world got to see them, and be reminded of the war, they didn't need to hear them too.)

They were quite fast shoppers, not wasting a single moment. Scorpius knew that Draco had only left the Manor because he wanted to get away from Lucius, so it worried him that at their pace, Draco would have to face him sooner than he wanted to.

He had an immense temptation to wonder what it was that had Draco and Lucius so tense with each other, but he kept away from it. He was not going to indulge in matters including those two. He respected his Father enough to give him this, and his Grandfather was not really his favourite person in the world.

Also, he couldn't daydream when his Father kept consulting him about his list of supplies.

They got through the list pretty quickly, with their no-nonsense attitude. Neither Draco nor Scorpius made any eye contact with anyone else for more than a minute at most. Scorpius stayed close to his Father, who asked Scorpius to lead the way, so Draco wouldn't lose sight of him.

They had only one item on the list left, when they both heard it.

"_Scorpius!_"

By reflex, Scorpius turned around and found Al running to him.

Scorpius felt his Father slightly stiffen.

"Al?"

The Slytherin gave him a happy smile.

Then, Al saw Draco, and his smile faded as he took a small step back.

"Mr Malfoy!" Al greeted weakly. "Um … uh … h—hi … ?"

Draco nodded at Al as a sign of acknowledgement. He then looked over at the distance, signalling to Scorpius that he may carry on with this conversation.

"Are you alone?" Scorpius asked.

"No." Al replied, thankful for the distraction. "Rosie, Mum and Uncle Ron are with me too. Neville took Frank, Molly and Roxanne to get their first-year stuff. You won't believe how _annoyed_ Roxanne is at the fact that she isn't allowed a broomstick of her own! James, Lorcan, Lysander, Ally, Domi and Fred are here too — with Teddy and Vic."

"_Al!_" Rose exclaimed as she, her father and his sister caught up. "Don't run off like that!"

She turned to Scorpius, as if there hadn't been a summer gap since they last saw each other.

"Will you please tell this idiot to behave?"

Scorpius nodded and turned to look Al in the eye with a deadly serious expression.

"Al," he said, "never behave."

The two boys burst out laughing as Rose folded her arms in annoyance.

"I see the effects of being exposed to Al's stupidity have still not worn off."

"Yes Rose," Scorpius said, "it's nice to see you too."

"_Anyway,_" Al interrupted, "aren't you excited for September?! I don't care if it's Slytherin or Hufflepuff, when I get back to Hogwarts, the first thing I'm going to do is make the Quidditch Team!"

"Keep dreaming." Rose rolled her eyes.

"No no, Rose — you've got this all wrong." Scorpius intervened, "We have to _encourage_ him. For example."

Scorpius turned to Al.

"When you make the Slytherin Quidditch Team, me and Rose here will be _sure_ to support Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff when they play against Slytherin."

Rose laughed as Al glared at the smiling Scorpius.

Ginny and Ron finally arrived in the vicinity and Scorpius tried to ignore them.

"In _other news_," Al changed the subject, turning to Scorpius, "you know how Rosie's scared of flying? Well, she went to get a drink in the middle of the night—"

Rose's face reddened as she screamed at her cousin to stop.

"—and she tripped over this broomstick that James left on the kitchen floor on purpose — and I am not exaggerating in the _slightest_ when I say this — she screamed so loud _everyone_ in the Burrow woke up—"

"No, I didn't!" Rose screamed, willing it to be true.

"—even Crookshanks!" Al continued, ignoring her. "And when she found out what happened, she—"

"Al!" Rose called, in the voice of someone who had betrayed her horribly and wanted them to stop.

"—she started _crying!_" Al said, not showing any signs of pain. "Then she punched James in the gut with such ferocity, he _threw up!_ On her!"

"Al, I'm serious." Rose asked. "Stop it."

"She squealed so loud, _Lucy_ started crying!"

Rose threw her hands up in exasperated surrender.

"Then Uncle Percy cleaned everything up and sent us all to bed." Al said. "Boring ending, but can you imagine what would've happened if Uncle Percy hadn't intervened? It would've been absolutely _hilarious!_"

"It's not funny." Rose mumbled.

"I don't know," Scorpius grinned. "it's pretty funny."

"Scorpius." Draco spoke up. "We should go, unless you want to keep your Grandfather waiting."

"Of course, Father." Scorpius replied, suddenly solemn. He turned to his friends. "I'll see you on the train then."

"Until then." Rose greeted.

"I'll be sure to write if Rose does anything else stupid!" Al waved as the Malfoys disappeared from sight.

"_Shut up_ Al!" was the last Scorpius heard of his friends.

Later that day, when he was back at home, Scorpius recalled the incident and realised something quite important.

He liked having friends.


	23. Carriage Rides

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Although it had been a particularly brilliant summer (for most people), there was not a single soul that wasn't looking forward to a firstanother year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even Joyce welcomed September (but only because she wouldn't get to see Emma until Christmas).

Roxanne had jumped on the train without even saying goodbye, leaving her parents quite speechless. Then Fred had boarded the train, dragged his sister out where she hugged her father, kissed her mother on the cheek and repeated her previous entrance onto the train.

Lucy clung to Molly II, saying that she was going to Hogwarts too. When Audrey's efforts failed, Percy stepped in and after the longest time, managed to pry his daughter off Molly II. Molly cried silently and said she'd come back for Christmas, and write every chance she got. Audrey told her that it was okay to write once a fortnight; as she would have to set some time aside to explore Hogwarts, make friends, and study hard. Percy also added that she needn't worry in the slightest at whichever House she was placed in; she would be loved just the same.

None of the Potter siblings voiced their anxiety, or even let it show. They kept an eye out, and an ear, but didn't let on that they were looking out for someone. After all, their suspicions would be uncovered here on this platform, or (for James and Al at least) later in the evening, during the Sorting. Their suspicions about their second cousin, Lucas Dursley — was he coming to Hogwarts?

Lily and Hugo had been less miffed that they would be boarding the train next year with their siblings. James said that in order to cheer up his little sister and cousin, he would set up fireworks that read her name to go off. Well, he planned to, until both of his parents looked him in the eye and dangerously stated that he wouldn't. Lily said it was okay, because there was a likely chance James would be suspended again. At this, James stuck his tongue out at his sister and left to board the train with the rest of the Idiot Trio.

Al assured his parents that Rose would ensure that neither James nor any of the Idiot Trio tried anything. Rose then added that she would be keeping an eye on Al as well. Al rolled his eyes, gave his mother a hug, ruffled his sister's hair and told his father that he would not come back home unless he made the Slytherin Quidditch Team. And then promptly left to board the magical train. Rose hugged her mother, father and brother, and said she would see them when she came back home, before running off to join Al aboard the train.

Scorpius was also among the many souls that would board the train to the castle. His Grandfather had refused to accompany them to send Scorpius off to Hogwarts, although Draco tried to cover it up saying that he was simply at a meeting. Draco had also asked Astoria not to cry, and she did hold in her tears at the fact that her "precious little prince" was already a second-year. Scorpius had stayed until his mother recovered from the hardship of the parting.

Before he boarded the train, Scorpius left Draco in shock.

"I don't like it when you and Grandfather fight." Scorpius said, looking his father in the eye. "I don't know what happened between you, but I'd really appreciate it if you reconciled before I came home."

* * *

><p>Shy little Frank II had never shown a greater appreciation for the fact that his father taught at Hogwarts. He clung to Hannah for the longest time, until Ally stepped in. She and Dominique promised Frank that Hogwarts was brilliant and they had even offered him to sit with them on the train. With another tearful hug for his mother, Frank II boarded the Hogwarts Express with his sister and her best friend.<p>

Rolf and Luna couldn't make it to Platform 9 ¾ that day, but neither of their sons minded. They had already said their goodbyes before Luna and Rolf left for their most recent expedition. Luna had sent a Patronus saying that both of them were horribly disappointed that they couldn't make it, due to an unexpected injury of Rolf's. It wasn't very serious, but it did stop the couple from coming to London to see their sons before they left for Hogwarts again.

Without saying anything to anyone, Lysander simply boarded the Hogwarts Express as soon as he could. He had found an empty compartment where he could worry for his father alone, but his peace was not meant to last. Rather than the Idiot Trio pull off one of their ridiculous attempts to cheer up Lysander, it was Dominique Weasley and Alice and Frank Longbottom II that asked to join Lysander in his compartment. They tried to include him in the conversations, and he only gave one word answers. By the end of the train ride, however, Lysander was replying to Frank's enquiries in full sentences. Though he was not particularly fond of Alice's jokes, or Dominique's habit of laughing at said jokes, and then apologising to Lysander for doing so.

* * *

><p>When Al, Rose and Scorpius found each other, they talked as if they hadn't just had a gap since the last time they saw each other at Diagon Alley.<p>

They were disappointed to say that they had found nothing that would help them find AVOE. Even the AVOE badge (the one with the lightning bolt on it) refused to respond to Rose's excessive attempts of the Revealing Charm. After Al and Scorpius voiced that she probably shouldn't do that, because they still had no idea the extent of its capabilities — Rose ceased her excessive attempts to uncover its secrets.

But that didn't stop her from glaring at it with all the Weasley ferocity she had inherited — until Al put the badge away, that is.

When Scorpius thought she was acting odd in this, he asked her what was wrong. She gave him a Weasley glare and he shut up.

Until the trolley came around, when Al purchased a simple box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Rose did nothing. This was truly odd as Rose would always purchase Chocolate Frog Cards to ensure she was ahead of Al. He found it even weirder that Al placed the Every Flavour Beans within his and Scorpius' reach, but not Rose. In reply, Rose didn't even yell at Al for this, nor did she try anything to attains the sweets.

He contemplated whether the answer to her odd behaviour was worth losing his life. He decided it wasn't and said nothing.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked her instead.

"Rosie's just miffed." Al said as he popped a green coloured bean into his mouth. "Because of our alliance — oh Merlin, it's grass, ugh — I'm technically farther ahead of Rose and she hates that. And because Rosie's so independent, she tried to get ahead of us by stuffing her face—"

"I did _not '_stuff my face'!" Rose corrected.

"—with Chocolate Frogs non-stop. But she only found one new Card in every ten Cards she had. Eventually, she ate so much, Aunt Hermione took her to the dentist, and she told Rosie that she was only allowed a handful of sweets once a week at most."

"Dentist?" Scorpius asked.

"Like Muggle healers," Al explained, "but only for teeth."

And then the folded arms, the annoyed tone of voice, and the glares all made sense.

"Why don't you just join our alliance?" Scorpius asked kind-heartedly.

The twin looks of shock on Al and Rose's faces proved they were truly related.

"No!" Rose replied. "Absolutely never!"

Al gave Scorpius a look.

"I'm still as loved as ever." he commented sarcastically.

So all in all, neither of them had changed significantly over the summer.

* * *

><p>But it was when they got off the Hogwarts Express that Scorpius, Al and Rose's attention was drawn away from the castle, the Sorting, and the feel of coming back to Hogwarts.<p>

They made it to the carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts castle. Tto the other students, the carriages pulled themselves.

Scorpius saw the Thestrals. Rose sensed the familiar sensation of being too close for comfort to a Thestral. James had already informed Al of the Thestrals pulling the carriages.

During the carriage ride, neither of them said anything. There was a tense silence as they were all haunted of the memories from their last encounter with a Thestral.

Then, Rose spoke.

"Al," she asked warily, "is your pocket — _flashing?_"

Both boys turned to the pocket she was referring to, and Al took out the flashing object.

It was the AVOE badge.

And it was glowing quite urgently, like a flashlight turning off and on continuously.

Then, the Thestral that was pulling their carriage let out a loud screech. Apparently this screech had been a warning as the Thestral continued running, but moved off the pathway and ran straight into the forest, without hesitation, accelerating as it ran through the uneven ground with ease.

Al, Scorpius and Rose clung to the carriage, hoping that they would live to see tomorrow. Not just because of the speed, but also the uneven ground that caused a horribly bumpy ride.

"What is going on?!" Rose screamed.

"You really think _I_ have any idea?!" Scorpius replied, just as loud.

"_Guys!_" Al called. "It's the badge!"

"What?!"

"The badge!" Al repeated. "Look!"

He held it out and they noticed the Thestral was running in the direction the lightning bolt was pointing to. The lightning bolt turned right and immediately, the Thestral made such a sharp right, all three of them clung onto the carriage in fear that they'd be thrown off and whacked into the nearest tree like ragdolls.

"You don't think—" Rose asked.

"It can't be—" Scorpius interrupted.

"I'm afraid so." Al said.

"Absolutely not!" Rose yelled. "We need to get off this thing before we crash!"

"There's no other way!" Scorpius yelled. "We'll have to jump!"

"What?!"

"Are you insane?!"

Scorpius said nothing, but stood up (still clinging onto the carriage) and faced the back. Before he could hesitate, Scorpius jumped off and landed with a very horrible sounding and looking thud.

They were losing sight of him fast; without giving himself time to think, Al jumped off the side of the carriage and fell on the ground, rolling until his head hit a tree.

Rose didn't jump, and it seemed that she didn't need to. Because immediately after Al had jumped, the carriage slowed down and stopped.

Before it could start up again, Rose climbed out hastily and watched on as the apparently invisible Thestral dragged the carriage around deeper into the Forest. It may have just been Rose's imagination, but the movements of the carriage, suggested the creature was confused.

When she was unable to detect its movement, Rose thanked Merlin it was gone and rushed to her cousin, attempting to wake him up.

She remembered the horrible sound he made when his head hit the tree and barely saw him breathing. With this, she concluded that hitting the tree had been more than enough to knock out her cousin.

So, guided by wand-light, Rose slung one of Al's arms around her shoulder and very slowly dragged her cousin, following the carriage tracks back where they came from.

She found Scorpius testing his arm to see if he could move it. She guessed he probably broke his arm.

He was more than glad to see that she was unhurt. He then slung Al's other arm around his shoulder, so both of them shared the load.

"We are going back to the castle," Rose asked. "aren't we?"

The AVOE badge had still not ceased its urgent flashing.

Scorpius, who had taken it out of Al's possession, dropped the badge with a cry of pain.

"It's warming up!" Scorpius explained.

"Must be really urgent." Rose commented.

"But," Scorpius voiced, "we could just as easily turn around and go back to the castle."

"Which would be the _sensible_ thing to do here." Rose added, hoping to influence the Gryffindor's decision.

Scorpius said nothing, but stared at the badge in contemplation. He knew that all of them needed to see Madam Pomfrey, but Al would probably not talk to him when he found that they had passed up this opportunity. With his unexpected burst of Gryffindor courage, he could still follow the badge; and find out what was so urgent. He knew they should just go back to the castle, but this was the first lead they had on AVOE after an entire summer of nothing. They might very well not get this chance again.

What was the right decision?

"Scorpius," Rose continued. "it's really not worth it."

Both of them turned to the flashing badge, which was now emitting steam.

Then, without any warning, the badge stopped flashing. The steam coming from the badge faded. The lightning bolt resumed the position Al had first found it in, no longer pointing to the designated location.

Neither of them said anything, for the longest time. After a while, Rose reached down and hesitantly picked up the badge. When she realised it was okay, she played with it in her hands as a test.

"It's cold again." Rose informed.

"I guess that settles it." Scorpius voiced. "We should go; we can't stay in the Forest for long."

Rose pocketed the badge. "I'll hold onto this for a while."

"Looks like we have no choice," Scorpius added. "but to walk."

So with two lit wands, Rose and Scorpius dragged the unconscious Al in their long walk, following the carriage tracks back onto the path.

When they did return onto the path, they didn't see a single carriage, meaning they Sorting had already begun.

* * *

><p>They managed to enter the castle, late at night. Scorpius was sure that everyone had already eaten and were fast asleep now.<p>

Oh, how he wished he was with them. He and Al were injured heavily, him and Rose had managed to drag the still-unconscious Al halfway around the vast castle, not eaten anything since the train, and they didn't even get to find out the reason for the urgency.

Al was going to have his head, when he woke up.

Thankfully, no Professor awaited them at the entrance. Scorpius knew neither of them could deal with an interrogation after their adventure and walk.

They dragged him out to the Hospital Wing, hoping Madam Pomfrey would give them some good news.

Madam Pomfrey was talking to Professors Vivier and Longbottom when they reached the Hospital Wing.

All three adults looked down at them in a mix of confusion and horror.

"What happened?" Neville asked gently trying to maintain his shock.

"Not now." Rose replied, as Madam Pomfrey pried Al off herself and Scorpius, levitating him to an empty bed. Rose's shoulder was sore, from carrying her cousin, and her legs ached to no end. She had mud on her as well, due to being in such close proximity with her cousin and other best friend. It was late at night, she couldn't see a thing and she was starving. She had just carried Al halfway around such a massive castle and witnessed Al and Scorpius jump to what could very well have been their deaths.

It had been the right decision to turn away, but even Rose was annoyed that she didn't even find out what was so urgent that the AVOE badge nearly killed all three of them.

She was really _not_ in the mood to answer any questions.

Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey understood this and ushered all three of them to sleep in the Hospital Wing.

Neville also told Professor Vivier to leave the questions until they were all healed. Madam Pomfrey then sent both Professors out, saying everyone earned a good rest.

* * *

><p>Early next morning, Rose was discharged. She didn't have any injuries, only suffering from tiredness from dragging her cousin halfway around the castle without any nutrition.<p>

Madam Pomfrey had explained that Al only had a concussion (he was incredibly lucky it wasn't worse) and would wake up later that afternoon. Scorpius had cracked a bone in his arm, and he had worsened it by helping Rose carry Al halfway around the castle, though he would be healed completely by tomorrow morning.

When Rose was ushered out of the Hospital Wing, she went down to get breakfast. Being a daughter of Ronald Weasley, food never ceased to cheer her up.

She finished slowly, taking her time to savour everything she ate. However, before she could get up and wander around the castle, to get some fresh air, and to catch up with her friends and family, and thank Merlin that it was Sunday (so none of the trio would miss any lessons), Professor Vivier found and escorted Rose to her office.

Although Rose was peeved that she had to be interrogated alone, she was not unprepared. She had perfected how to retell the events of last night, as she should. She had had more than enough time to perfect her wording. Between the who-knows-how-long trek halfway around the castle, and the night at the Hospital Wing, Rose would be disappointed in herself if she let anything slip.

But because Rose had about as much self-confidence as a first-year Hufflepuff, and because this was Professor Vivier (whom Rose expected to harbour the interrogational skills of a highly-trained Auror, or a very cross mother) — Rose was slightly scared.

Nonetheless, Rose gave her answer.

She couldn't mention anything about the badge. That much was obvious. So she told Professor Vivier how about halfway through the carriage ride, the Thestral gave a screech and drove the carriage straight into the Forest, accelerating and making sharp turns as it went. When asked about the injuries, Rose explained how Scorpius and Al had bravely jumped off (or rather, as Rose really believed, idiotic and recklessly thrown themselves off) the carriage and landed with harsh sounding thuds. In reply for her lack of injuries, Rose talked about how when Al had jumped off, the Thestral stopped and she climbed out of safety. She then added partly-carrying and mostly-dragging her unconscious cousin through the Forest and path, with nothing but Scorpius sharing her load, both of them guided by wand-light.

Professor Vivier listened closely, without reacting at all. Rose wondered if when she became an adult, would she also gain this inhumane yet incredibly popular ability to look completely void of emotion?

Her Head of House solemnly thanked Rose for her time and then dismissed her.


	24. Interference

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Rose was waiting for the boys to exit their D.A.D.A. classroom, as Professor Arminger had kept them in an extra ten minutes. When they were let out, all three of them left to the field, where there would be less chance they would be heard, and where (hopefully) the sunlight and fresh air would help them think properly.<p>

Their topic of conversation started with the obvious. The night of September first.

Having been the first of the trio to be discharged from the Hospital Wing, Rose had had more than enough time to reach a conclusion. Based on how the Thestral had followed the AVOE badge like a compass, Rose shared how she believed that the third measure taken for urgency was the badge controlling the Thestral. She didn't how; it had to be a very strong branch of magic, performed by a highly skilled witch or wizard. Her deduction was backed up by the fact that when Al had jumped off, the Thestral had stopped. When Al had jumped off, he was still in possession of the badge.

There was a tense, heavy silence amongst them as this information sink in.

As far as they knew, the Hogwarts' herd of Thestrals was probably the only herd of trained Thestrals in all of Britain, at least. If AVOE had the power to control creatures of XXXX class without even being in its presence, then the trio had clearly underestimated everything they thought AVOE was. They knew to expect much, but they didn't know this was what they were up against.

Was it even a good idea? Going up against such an organisation? Why were they so eager to find out what AVOE was anyway? If they did find out what AVOE, what would they do then? Anyone from AVOE could kill them on sight if they wanted to — the only thing protecting them was their names. They had already committed murder once, so why would they stop again? And if they were able to commit the murder of Narcissa Malfoy, who's to say her murder was the only one?

Al asked the question on all their minds. "D'you think we should go?"

Both Rose and Scorpius knew what he meant, but neither of them had an answer.

They still didn't know what to make of the last time they had been. And they didn't even know what to expect. Would they come back? Would they have answers, or just more questions? How long would it take them? Would they be caught? If they were, what would the consequences be? But the most important question was the most difficult: was it worth it all?

The trio sat and contemplated their individual answers. When none of them could justify any reason, Rose offered to change the topic.

So instead of trying to learn more about AVOE, the trio sat and shared summer stories.

If only they knew what their ignorance was costing them.

* * *

><p>At first Al thought it was a coincidence, but that first-year glued himself to Joyce like she was the only thing he could see. The weird part was not how they were always together, but how Joyce allowed it, and even encouraged it. He was a Gryffindor and she a Slytherin, but they both looked like they didn't know, or care. She spoke to him in such encouraging and kind tones of voice, he began to wonder if it really was Joyce.<p>

There were many occurrences where he almost asked her about it, but because it was Joyce, he always ended up changing his mind.

In the end, it was that first-year Gryffindor that came up to Al himself. Before he spoke, Al just hoped he hadn't noticed the curious glances that Al always gave him.

For the longest time, the first-year boy stared at the ground, not saying anything. Al remained where he was, not knowing if he should leave, or wait. Whatever it was he was waiting for.

"Morgan!"

Al had never been more glad to hear Joyce's voice.

She ruffled the first-year's hair and smiled.

"If you're going to say something, say it." Joyce advised him. "This one doesn't bite."

Al gave her an insulted look. "_This one?_"

Joyce ignored him.

Finally, the younger boy looked up and spoke.

"I— I'm …" the poor child looked as if he'd rather be anywhere but here, "… um … M—Mo— Morgan. H—Hi …"

"Hi …" Al replied, "… Morgan?"

"He's shy, work with it." Joyce explained.

"You know him." Al concluded.

"As I should!" Joyce replied, as if anything else was an insult.

"Anyway, Morgan, this is Al." Joyce introduced. "His stupidity is contagious, so it's best to stay away from him."

"Thanks." Al replied sarcastically.

"Anytime." Joyce replied easily.

"And you already know Joyce, Morgan." Al countered. "She looks like a girl, but really, she's a Hungarian Horntail. You should be careful with her."

While Joyce glared at the smiling Al, Morgan had a question.

"What's that?" Morgan asked. "A Hungry Hor—"

"_Hungarian_ Horntail." Al corrected. "It's the most vicious, bloodthirsty breed of dragon in existence."

Al felt quite proud of that description, and little Morgan seemed to think so too.

"D—Dragons …" Morgan's eyes glittered with an uncontrollable excitement, "… are— they're_ real?_"

"Obviously." Al replied like it was nothing.

"Really?!" Morgan asked gleefully, almost jumping in excitement. "Do we get to see them?! Where are they?! I want to see one! Are there more kinds?! What are they like?! I can't wait to tell Taylor!"

"You are telling Taylor nothing." Joyce stated. "As for the dragons, they're too dangerous to be here at Hogwarts. Only the most trained specialists can control them. There's no way you can see one."

Morgan's face fell.

"No need to be so harsh." Al intervened. He turned to Morgan. "My uncle Charlie works with dragons. I could tell you so many stories, your brain would explode."

Joyce had her arms folded. "Oh really?"

"I want to work with dragons!" Morgan declared. "What do I need to do?!"

"Well, first of all, you need to study really _really_ hard. And it's not going to be easy at all." Al started. "But Uncle Charlie always says, if you're up for it, it becomes a _lot_ easier."

"I'm up for it!" Morgan practically squealed. "What do I have to do?!"

"Morgan," Joyce said dangerously. "go ahead and wait for me in the library. I'll catch up in a bit."

Morgan followed her instructions wordlessly.

"What's with you?" Al asked.

Glaring, Joyce gestured for him to follow her into the nearest empty classroom.

* * *

><p>"I mean, just because you don't like it here," Al carried on. "doesn't mean he has to. Let him enjo—"<p>

"He has a sister." Joyce interrupted.

"What?" How was this relevant?

"He's been here two weeks, and you're already feeding him mindless dreams about moving to Romania!" Joyce vented. "Do you have any idea what you're dealing with?"

"Ye—"

"_No._" she interrupted him again. "You don't. So stay out of it."

"Tell me then." Al folded his arms. "What is wrong with what I just did?"

"Are you thick? Didn't you just hear me?" she asked. "He has a sister. An older sister. Who doesn't go to Hogwarts."

"So?"

Al could clearly see he was getting on Joyce's bad side, but then again, she wasn't his favourite person in the world either.

"What do you mean _'so'?!_" Joyce asked. "Of all the ignorant little— He has an older, _non_-magical _sister!_ It was hard enough for her to accept his decision to come to Hogwarts, and you're feeding him dreams of moving to _Romania!_ It may be easy for you and your _magic folk_ to show off your fantasy creatures and stupid spells, but it would be better for everyone if you took into consideration the consequences. When Muggle-borns come to Hogwarts, half of them end up severing ties with their families, _alright?!_ Your aunt was _unbelievably_ lucky, but that is _not_ how the rest of the world works!"

She took a deep breath.

"The _only_ reason Morgan is here at Hogwarts, is because he wanted to be." Joyce continued. "His parents didn't want him going, they wanted him to stay with them, not be shipped off to some secret, magic, boarding school for seven years. His sister didn't want him going either. But she saw how badly he wanted to go, and it was _her_. It was _his sister_ that convinced their parents to let him go. That _sister_ is the reason he still gets replies from his parents! That _sister_, who is now alone and missing him more than you could _ever_ know, did _everything_ she could to make sure he could come here because she _loves_ her baby brother! And here _you_ are, thinking there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding him dreams to go to bloody _Romania!_"

"But he's a wizard!" Al argued. "He can use magic! That makes him special!"

"Oh, not _this_ speech again." Joyce pulled a face. "His parents are _not _magical. He is Muggle-born — do you know what that _actually_ means? It means he is born of Muggles, _no one_ in his family knows what magic is, or how great it is — they're used to their _own_ way of life! And I think they'd appreciate it if you didn't try to convince him otherwise!"

She made eye contact with him.

"Get one thing into your thick skull." Joyce said. "Magic is _not_ everything."

And she swiftly left the classroom.

* * *

><p>As expected, the next time he saw Joyce, was in the library. He with Rose and Scorpius, and she with Morgan. Whenever Morgan wasn't looking, she locked eyes with him and glared in warning.<p>

Just what was her relationship with that kid? She treated him like her own little brother — which wasn't possible, because their last names were different. And Joyce had mentioned his guardians as parents, not parent. And he had an older non-magical sister already, so it couldn't be Joyce. If Joyce was one of his sisters, then why hadn't she mentioned her own role in the story she told him?

Al had concluded they weren't siblings — were they cousins? They were obviously too close to be just friends.

"Al — are you listening?"

Al turned to Rose.

"What? — yeah."

Unconvinced, Rose and Scorpius turned to where he had been looking before.

"Is that Joyce Hanwell?" Rose asked.

"Who's that with her?" Scorpius added.

"That's the happiest I've ever seen her with anyone." Rose commented as Joyce and Morgan laughed together. "And probably the most open too."

"_Guys._" Al interrupted. "We have other things to worry about."

"Right." Scorpius turned first. "Like I was saying before, I think we should plan it this time around."

"Plan what?" Al asked.

"What Scorpius here means — if you'd been listening — is," Rose explained. "we shouldn't just rush into the Forest. We need to plan it. The time, the day, how to get there without scaring ourselves to death, and what we're going to do, once we get there."

"What can we do, though?" Al asked. "I mean, no offence, but they're a bunch of full-fledged wizards and witches who've already committed murder, and we're just kids."

The three sat in silence, wondering how to answer to that.

Then, Rose spoke.

"The Cloak." she realised. "We could take the Invisibility Cloak. That thing can conceal anyone from any charm, any spell, any potion, anything, you name it. We could take that."

Al and Scorpius contemplated the idea.

"Rosie, you're brilliant," Al smiled, "you know that?"

"So I've heard."

"I still don't see how you're related." Scorpius commented. "I mean, she's _brilliant_ and you're—"

Al gave him an expectant look.

"Less, brilliant?" Scorpius attempted weakly.

Al rolled his eyes.

"But," Rose continued. "can you get the Cloak from James? I mean, he isn't really the best person when it comes to sharing. Especially since you can't say what you need it for."

Al remembered when he had reconciled with James; he had told James everything about AVOE up to that point.

Al decided Rose didn't need to know about that, so he just gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry." Al said. "I think getting the Cloak will be easier than you think."

Rose eyed him warily, but thankfully, said nothing.

* * *

><p>The Slytherin Common Room was empty that night, except for one young wizard.<p>

"Does this place help you think or something?"

Al didn't even need to turn around. He had become familiarised with Joyce's voice — especially at this time of night.

"I mean, you're here almost every night." Joyce added, her voice coming up beside him. "Well, when you've had a bad day, at least."

"How d'you know when I've a bad day?"

Joyce gave him a look. "You really think it doesn't show?"

He turned away from her.

A somewhat comfortable silence befell them for a few minutes.

"Sorry." Al finally said. "I didn't know."

They both knew he meant about Morgan.

"Yeah," Joyce agreed. "that seems to be the cause of most of your problems."

Al almost laughed.

But then he remembered the other thing.

"Is it because he's Muggle-born?" Al asked. "Is that why he's the only one you talk to?"

"I'm talking to you." Joyce countered. "And you've _seen_ me talk to others."

For some reason, Al wanted to take back his words.

"… partly."

"What?"

"Partly. That's the answer." Joyce answered. "Partly because he's Muggle-born."

Al decided it was best if they left it at that.

"So what is it?"

"What's what?"

"What's bothering you?" Joyce asked. "I doubt it's just Morgan."

Al contemplated whether or not to ask her. Then, deciding Rose would probably have his head when (not if) she found out, he decided not to.

Instead, he remembered something she had said last year, in this very room. Something that — to this day — didn't make much sense to him.

"Why did you come to Hogwarts?" he asked, not breaking eye contact. "If you hate Hogwarts so much, you could just as well have declined the place."

At first, he thought she didn't have an answer.

Joyce broke eye contact and took a deep breath.

"My father believed …" she seemed reluctant to reply, "… it was a good idea."

"Did you?"

"I believed …" she spoke hesitantly, "… in my father."

"Do you regret coming?"

Joyce tilted her head. "Sometimes."

"So," Al asked hopefully, "not always?"

"Not because I like it here." Joyce clarified, "But because I hate it there."

"But didn't you try to leave Hogwarts to go home last year?" Al asked, remembering when she had gone missing, leaving everyone to think she was probably dead when really, she'd only tried to go home.

"Yeah," Joyce commented. "it's complicated."

Another silence ensued. Which, like all the others, was not meant to last.

"You should sleep."

"So should you."

"Quidditch try-outs are soon." Joyce said. "You'll need your sleep."

Al said nothing, nor did he move.

"Look, you're not telling me what's really bothering you, and I'm not going to pester you about it," Joyce added. "but all I can tell you is, it'll be fine."

"Will it _really?_"

"I don't know." Joyce answered simply. Al turned around to face her, where she was halfway to the girls' dormitories.

Something in her eyes changed, as she stared into nothing, and when she spoke, her voice was more fragile then he'd ever heard it.

"But sometimes," Joyce said delicately, "a little hope is the only thing you can hold on to."

* * *

><p>"Show me the badge." Rose commanded a few afternoons later. "Let me see if I can find anything else."<p>

As Al took out said object out of its usual parchment, a folded piece of parchment fell out with it.

All three of them stared at it.

"What's that?"

"I don't know." Al said, as he picked it up. "I always keep this pocket empty, for the badge."

He opened the small parchment and read through.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Advice."

"What?" Scorpius asked as Al showed them both.

_AVOE are dangerous, and you know that._

_But the following is the most safe place and time you can go to find out what and who they really are._

_Use the badge to get there._

Below, there was an address and a date.

"That date looks familiar." Rose commented.

"Isn't it the Saturday before the Hogwarts Express leaves to London for the Christmas holidays?" Scorpius reeled off.

Rose furrowed her eyebrows. "Horribly convenient date, that."

"Question is," Scorpius added. "can we trust it?"

"Yes, we can." Al said confidently as he pocketed the parchment.

"But you don't even know who placed it there!" Rose exclaimed. "I mean, if they could come that close to you, who knows what else they're capable of!"

"It's handwritten." Al said. "And believe me or not, but it looks really familiar."

"Whose handwriting is it then?"

"I can't remember exactly." Al thought aloud. "But I've definitely seen it somewhere."

Rose sighed.

"If you're sure …" Scorpius trailed off.

Rose didn't need to say anything. Al knew very well that if his instincts were wrong, he would probably get them all killed.

He just hoped he was making the right decision in trusting his memories.


	25. Only Twelve

**A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and anyone that you recognise as canon.**

* * *

><p>Joyce had been more than clear when she had warned Al to not interfere with Morgan. And although Al didn't see what her problem was, decided it was best to leave her be. So Al stayed away from Morgan respectfully.<p>

However, the same could not be said for the Gryffindor boy.

Ever since Al had told him that he could grow up to work with dragons, the boy did two things. The first was to work as hard as could to keep ahead of his magical education, so he could further into studying dragons. There was nothing Al could do about this. But it was the other thing Morgan started doing was what made Hogwarts difficult for Al. Morgan started to seek Al out, so he could hear stories about his uncle Charlie working with dragons and so he could tell Morgan what else he needed to do if he wanted to work with the dragons.

Thankfully, Rose and Scorpius had been too preoccupied in other matters to notice the eager first-year always trying to find Al.

* * *

><p>The first Friday that came, James sought out Al and sat him down. As Al expected, James asked where he, Rosie and <em>number three<em> were during the Sorting. Al updated James on everything about AVOE since the last time he had heard this story, including the carriage ride, the parchment that his gut trusted but he left out the part about Scor's grandmother. To this, James ruffled his hair as his way of saying that he was glad they were alive.

James updated Al on all the new kids at Hogwarts. Molly II went to Ravenclaw, about which she and Rose were probably excited about. Roxanne joined the Idiot Trio in Gryffindor, which she was pumped for. Frank, however, went to Hufflepuff. Neville wasn't disappointed though and Ally tried her hardest to convince Frank that it was great.

"And Luke?" Al asked, wondering what had happened to the elder Dursley boy.

"Luke came." James replied, "And he's in Gryffindor."

Al didn't know how to react. So James changed the subject to by voicing his fear of Al, Rose and Scor dealing with this "AVOE" on their own. Al didn't know how to answer that but as it turned out, an answer wasn't what James was looking for.

"I kind of may have told Fred and Lor about your whole …" James searched for a word, "um, adventure."

"You did _what_?"

"Okay but hear me out!" James pleaded, "It's just the three of you but this way the three of us will keep an eye out too; six heads are better than three, no?"

Al couldn't argue with that, but Rose probably could.

Oh, Merlin.

"Rosie's going to _kill_ me when she finds out!" Al complained.

"When has that stopped you before?" James asked. He made a good point.

Al smiled; this was the kind of Marauder like encouragement Al could have used last year, the kind only James could provide.

Remembering the parchment, James asked if Al and his trio were actually going to go after AVOE.

"We don't have a choice." Al replied, remembering Scorpius talking about his grandmother. "We may never get an opportunity like this again."

"What if it's a trap?" James voiced.

"It's not." Al replied, "At least, my gut doesn't seem to think so."

The two sat in a silence of sorts.

"So you won't be coming for Christmas again?" James asked.

"We can't." Al replied, knowing Scorpius would stay again, to let people vent out on him, "Sorry."

"Alright." James leaned back on his hands, "but I guess you'll need a cover story for everyone back home. Mum's going to get suspicious, y'know."

Al groaned, proving to James that he was indeed right in believing that Al had forgotten about this.

"And you'll need the Invisibility Cloak."

Al's eyes shot up.

"And … ?" Al asked, trying to lower his hopes.

"Yeah, I'll cover for you," James replied, "and you can have the Invisibility Cloak."

"But … ?" Al waited, knowing there was a catch. James upheld Marauder-legacy; there was _always_ a catch.

"But I keep the map." James answered. "Also, you three better accept our help. And by _our_, I mean all of us; every Weasley, Potter, Scamander and Longbottom child you know."

Al looked on hesitantly and unsure.

"We're a _family, _Al." James stated firmly. "You three can't do this alone. Mum, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron couldn't do it alone either. You need all the help you can get: you're outnumbered and they're a lot stronger than you probably even know. You need us. All of us."

"But Rosie …" Al groaned, "Okay, fine, deal. Everyone will know by the end of the year."

James seemed satisfied but carried on.

"Whoa, hold on!" Al interrupted, "Why are there so many conditions?"

"Al." James said, "I'm giving you the Cloak, covering for you _and _letting you go through with this. That's three favours and three conditions. It's only fair; an eye for an eye."

Al sighed but allowed James to carry on.

"Don't worry; you'll like this condition."

James stood up, ready to leave.

"When you make that Slytherin Quidditch Team …" James started, "… you better play with everything you've got."

Al knew the motto.

"Play like my life's on the line," Al grinned, "right?"

James grinned back before leaving. Al once again took a moment to appreciate that he and his brother had reconciled.

* * *

><p>Rose was kept busy by her school-work, and any extra work she could. She was also itching to find out the identity of the person who gave them the advice for when to seek out AVOE. However, Al didn't give her the parchment in question, nor did he give her the badge. Rose had also taken on the role of a mentor towards Molly Weasley II.<p>

Rose had been ecstatic at having a relative in the same House as her, even if it was just one.

Al couldn't say the same. He hadn't seen Roxanne much, mostly because she was either always with Molly II, or at the Quidditch field. And in any case, when it came to the first years, Lucas Dursley was who Al was worried about the most.

He hadn't seen Lucas at all. And that worried him. James hadn't seen him either. Neither of them knew how Lucas was. Al wanted to see his cousin, to know how he was. Were his parents okay? How did Great Uncle Vernon take it? How did Great Aunt Petunia take it? How did Tristan take it? What allowed him to come?

And although they had told Lucas about Hogwarts, only Al could guide him now. Yeah, James had also experienced Hogwarts, but Al was closer to him in age. That, and James had a Quidditch Team to lead.

* * *

><p>"Did you ask your brother about the Cloak?" Scorpius asked him when he too got tired of Rose's relentless attempts to find something in a history textbook that would help.<p>

"Yeah." Al replied, "But, there's some conditions …"

That caught Rose's attention.

"What conditions?" Rose asked, surprising Scorpius (who thought she was still into her textbook).

"We have to include everyone into," Al made an incomprehensible gesture, "whatever _this_ is."

"What does he mean by," Scorpius leaned forward, "_everyone_?"

"Everyone." Al answered, "Lily, Hugo, Roxanne, Molly, Lucy, the Idiot Trio, Lysander, Domi, Ally, Frank, Vic, Teddy, _everyone_."

"He's kidding!"

"Yeah but in all fairness Rosie," Al continued, "he's giving us the Cloak but he's also covering for us since we're obviously not going home for Christmas. Again."

Rose dropped the textbook on the table and held her head in her hands.

"Oh Merlin." Rose groaned.

"But we have until the end of the school year to tell everyone," Al added, "if that helps?"

"Wait a minute." Scorpius caught on, "You told your brother about all of this?"

Rose sat up again, and Al wished for the ground to open up and swallow him again.

When the Slytherin didn't answer, his two best friends took his silence as a yes.

Thankfully, Rose didn't question him. This lack of reaction from the Ravenclaw surprised Scorpius, but he kept his mouth shut.

"This is ridiculous." Rose commentated, supporting her chin in her hands, "Maybe we should just give this up."

"What?" Al asked, "Why would we give up?"

"If James doesn't want to hand over the Cloak without everyone knowing, then I want to give up this whole thing." Rose answered, "There's no way we can get everyone involved, Al. We can't risk their lives along with ours."

No one had any argument against that.

Al turned to Scorpius.

"You glad you don't have so much family yet?" Al asked in the same exasperated tone Rose had spoken in just before.

"A little bit."

He then turned to Rose.

"Is that it then?" Al asked, "No more mysteries for us?"

No one spoke.

* * *

><p>Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Was that─<p>

"Luke!" Al called, causing the blond Muggle-born to turn around.

Al waved and ran up to his cousin, glad he finally found him.

"Where've you been hiding?" Al asked, "None of us can find you!"

"Us?"

"James told all our cousins to keep an eye out for you."

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"Eh." Al shrugged, "Tradition. You're still family, Luke."

The first year smiled a small smile.

"So?" Al grinned. "How is it?"

Lucas' eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Everything you lot said! And it's not even been that long since I came!" Lucas exclaimed, "Still getting used to the ghosts, the walking armours, the talking portraits and the moving staircases, though."

"Ah well, don't worry about it." Al reassured, "By the time exams come around, you'll know those moving staircases by the back of your hand. Plus, I know some portraits that are willing to help if you can't understand something in class."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll show you sometime." Al continued, "But _wait_ ─ till you see your first ever Quidditch match."

"No way!" Lucas grinned, "When is it? Can I try out?"

"November is the first match." Al replied, "You can try out ─ but only in your second year."

"Wait." the Dursley boy caught on, "Are you going to try out?"

"Tch." Al scoffed, feeling a bit smug, "Obviously."

"Don't worry, Al." Lucas put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll be there with snacks when you don't make the team."

"Shut up!" Al replied as he failed to hit Lucas with his book.

The two boys laughed.

* * *

><p>Scorpius watched on lazily as Al picked at his breakfast.<p>

"This is stupid." Al broke the silence, "It's so boring now. There's nothing to look forward to."

"Not even Quidditch?" Rose asked as she joined the two boys.

"You know what I mean." Al replied, still picking at his food.

"Rose is right though." Scorpius commented, "You can't involve everyone. It's too dangerous."

Al sat up, not taking his eyes off his food.

"I guess I'll tell James to keep the Cloak." Al added, "Since there's no need for it."

The other two agreed in low, discouraged voices.

"What's up with you lot?" Ally asked as she and Domi joined the trio, Domi sitting next to Al and Ally next to Rose, "You look like your grandmother banned you from playing Quidditch or something."

"It's nothing." Rose answered politely.

"Not anymore it isn't." Al muttered under his breath.

"Come on." Domi nudged Al, "Chin up Al! I thought you were going to try out for the Quidditch team!"

"Yeah," Al replied, "whatever."

"_Whatever_?" Ally asked as if she had been personally offended, "Did you just _whatever _Quidditch?"

None of the trio replied, too disappointed to answer.

"Hey, seriously," Domi poked Al, "what is up with you lot?"

"It's nothing," Rose restated, "he's just moody, is all."

Ally raised an eyebrow. Rose gave an assuring stare.

"Well, if you say so." Ally relented hesitantly.

"But, hey," Domi ruffled Al's already messy hair, "if you lot need any help or anything, come find us, alright?"

"This isn't the kind of thing you can help with." Al muttered as Domi and Ally left.

"She's right Al." Rose said, "You'll attract attention if you don't stop making that face."

Al scoffed and stopped playing with his food, satisfied with just staring it down instead.

"Look at it this way." Scorpius suggested, "You'll have more time to focus on Quidditch, and your Muggle-born cousin. And you can pull up your D.A.D.A. grade as well."

Rose agreed with Scorpius, but Al didn't say anything.

Instead, he picked up his stuff and left.

When Al was out of sight, Rose sighed and let her head collapse onto the table, in the same position Al was a minute ago.

"Don't tell me you're going to be just as moody as him?" Scorpius broke the silence.

"Leave me alone." Rose muffled into the table, "I hate everything."

"I don't understand why you're both so beaten up by this." Scorpius voiced, "It is the wisest choice."

Rose looked up at him.

"But does that make it the right choice?" Rose asked, her blue eyes ─ that had never looked so deep than right now ─ searching his own for an answer.

Scorpius failed to understand. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is," Rose sat up, "and I'm only concluding this based on the reactions of the Swan and Sis ─ but we seem to be the only ones who know about AVOE."

"Yeah …" Scorpius agreed. It did seem that way.

"And they killed your grandmother," Rose continued, not making eye contact when she mentioned his late grandmother, "so what if she's not the only person they've killed?"

Rose sat up straighter.

"I mean you saw what that badge did." Rose explained, "It controlled a Thestral. The Swan had a Thestral. Someone rescued her from here with a Thestral. Why do they need Thestrals? Why are they killing people?"

She paused.

"They're up to something." Rose continued in a lower voice, "And whatever it is, I have a feeling it's something Dad and Uncle Harry would want to know about."

"But if you told them," Scorpius countered, "There's no way they'd believe you."

"We'd be in loads of trouble even if they did." Rose winced, "But in the end, we're the only ones who about any of it ─ at all."

The two sat in silence, contemplating whether what they had done was for the best.

Rose gave a frustrated groan and looked up to the ceiling, raising her arms towards the ceiling as well.

"Why is this so difficult?!" Rose called to the heavens, "I'm only eleven years old! This is not the kind of thing I should be worrying about!"

Scorpius made no comment, lost in his own thoughts.

* * *

><p>Albus headed towards Gryffindor Tower, in search of his brother. But Scorpius caught him on his way.<p>

"What do you think you're doing?" Scorpius asked impartially.

"Telling James we don't need the Cloak." Al replied.

"You know what I mean." Scorpius cut off. "Do you actually expect me to believe that you're going to give up this easily?"

Times like these, Al hated how observant Scorpius was.

Al shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes.

"Well," Al started, "what can we do?"

"Go without taking the Cloak." Scorpius replied without hesitation.

The two boys stared each other down, until Al broke the gaze.

"Alright, fine," Al relented, "_maybe_ I was considering the idea."

"I guess the tables have turned, then." Scorpius muttered.

Al gave his best friend a confused look.

Scorpius gave him what Al could call a Marauder grin.

"What makes you think you're going to do this by yourself?"

* * *

><p>"You can keep the Cloak." Al said, "We won't need it."<p>

"So I take it you're not going then?"

"We're going." Al said, "We're just not going to put everyone's lives at risk just for the Cloak."

James paused, letting the information sink in. Then spoke.

"Still need me to cover for you?"

"No." Al declined, "We'll come up with something on our own. We've got Rosie."

James stared his brother down. Al didn't back away, which was a first. Al must be really serious about this.

James broke eye contact with his brother to scour through his belongings. Having found what he was looking for, James tossed it to his brother.

Al caught it instinctively, then stared at the object in his hands in disbelief before looking up at his brother.

"It's noble of you lot to not put the others at risk," James explained, "but that's no reason to be careless with your own lives."

"Are you saying … ?"

"Keep it." James finalised, "You lot will probably need it a lot more than us."

Us being the Idiot Trio.

Al thanked his brother and began to leave the fourth year Gryffindor boys' dormitory when James called him one last time.

"No one else practices Quidditch at home like we do, Al." James said, "Remember that."

* * *

><p>Al found Rose and Scorpius talking in the back of the library. Rose looked really tense. As he approached his two best friends, he did hear Rose mutter something along the lines of <em>not even safe<em> and _could very well be the most reckless and stupid thing I've ever agreed to_.

"So I take it we're still on for this?" Al asked, joining his two friends.

"I swear to Merlin," Rose flipped a page, "we could win an award for the sheer amount of stupidity we are about to commit."

Scorpius smiled like he wanted to say something, but remained silent.

"I mean, they're murderers! And us?" Rose asked, not tearing her eyes off the book on the table, "We're trusting a piece of parchment from someone we don't even know! And what are we equipping ourselves with? A stubborn mind-set and the magical abilities of a first year at Hogwarts!"

"That's not all we're equipping ourselves with." Al added.

Both Rose and Scorpius looked up at him.

"The Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain left us a gift." Al dumped the Cloak onto the table, "To try and increase our chances of making it back alive."

Rose looked like Christmas had come early.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Eh. Could be better. Thoughts?_


End file.
